FCC proposes new rules to fight SIM swap scams

SIM swap scams have increased in recent years, and since most online services these days are tied to people’s phone numbers, the technique has the potential to ruin the lives of victims. Now, the Federal Communications Commission is looking to create new rules that would help prevent SIM swap scams and porting fraud, both of which are techniques designed to hijack people’s phone numbers and identities.

The commission said it has received numerous complaints from consumers “who have suffered significant distress, inconvenience and financial harm” as a result of the two methods of diversion. SIM card swapping is a technique in which a bad actor convinces a wireless operator to transfer a victim’s service to a phone they control. When a bad actor successfully transfers the victim’s service and number to another operator, it is called port-out fraud.

To make it harder for fraudsters to control the phone numbers of potential victims, the FCC wants to change the rules for Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) and local number portability. In particular, he wants to require providers to adopt more secure methods to authenticate a person’s identity before agreeing to transfer their service to a new phone or to another operator. The commission is also proposing a rule that would require providers to notify customers each time a SIM change or port-out request is made on their accounts.

As part of the FCC’s rule-making process, the public can now comment on these proposals. The commission has yet to read these proposals and give the public another chance to make their voices heard before they can decide whether or not to change the aforementioned rules.