Here’s a new term to fear: SIM-swapping.
In short, a cybercriminal steals a certain amount of your personal data, including your phone number. He contacts a different carrier, pretending to be you, and claims to have lost “his” phone. He convinces the carrier to supply a new phone and SIM, disconnects the "old" line, then transfers “his” apps and information from the cloud.
It gets worse. In theory, you have two-factor authentication, which would help prevent a security breach. Not sure how 2FA works? Tap or click to learn how to set up 2FA on your Google, Facebook, Twitter and your other accounts.
In SIM-swapping, the criminal controls your phone using a different device. So the 2FA text message that would typically alert you to the thief's presence never reaches you.
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