FCC proposes new rules to combat SIM swapping scams

SIM swapping scams are on the increase these past few years, and since most online services lately are tied to people’s phone numbers, the technique has the potential to ruin victims’ lives. Now, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking to make new rules that might help prevent SIM swapping scams and port-out fraud, both of which are techniques designed to hijack people’s phone numbers and identities.

The commission said it’s received numerous complaints from consumers “who have suffered significant distress, inconvenience and financial harm” as a results of both hijacking methods. SIM swapping may be a technique wherein a nasty actor convinces a wireless carrier to transfer a victim’s service to a phone they control. When a nasty actor successfully transfers the victim’s service and number to a different carrier, that’s called port-out fraud.

To make it harder for scammers to realize control of potential victims’ phone numbers, the FCC wants to amend the Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) and native Number Portability rules. especially ,

it wants to need providers to adopt safer methods in authenticating an individual’s identity before agreeing to transfer their service to a replacement phone or to a different carrier. The commission also proposes a rule that might require providers to notify customers whenever a SIM switch or a port-out request is formed on their accounts.

As a part of the FCC’s rulemaking process, the general public can now discuss these proposals. The commission still has got to read those proposals and offer the general public another chance to form their voice heard before it can decide whether to amend the aforementioned rules.