Odegbami explained that one of his colleagues had \u20a6300,000 (R3,564) taken from his bank account after a thief snatched his iPhone from his car while he sat in traffic in Lagos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“His iPhone was locked, encrypted, and protected by Face ID. The thief never touched any of it,” Odegbami said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“He pulled the SIM, dropped it into a cheap Android handset, and used banking channels that still treat possession of a phone number as proof of identity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Odegbami said stealing money in this way required no hacking, malware, or phishing link, only that the victim did not set a PIN on their SIM or left it at a weak default. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You move a SIM from one handset to another, the line wakes up, and you start testing the channels that still trust SIM possession,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It helps the thief that most of us never set a SIM PIN, and that the networks still ship them with a default of 0000, so the SIM simply connects in its new home,”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Odegbami said that having access to a victim’s cellular number opened up a surprising number of sensitive channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many online account recovery and reset journeys still lean on SMS and only require information that is either publicly available or is trivial to guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That information can include a date of birth, an account number, or static personal details available on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Criminals can exploit these weak points to compromise user accounts linked to their phone numbers, including those with a linked payment card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Steps to take if phone is stolen \u2014 and how to avoid swaps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SAPS-Police-Station-800x533.jpg\")
SAPS Rondebosch police station entrance. Photographer: Roxane 134 \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnother way to avoid this particular threat is to use an embedded SIM (eSIM). These digital SIM cards are tied to a chip integrated into the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As long as the victim has a lock screen PIN or biometric unlocking set up on their phone, the thief cannot easily access apps or information stored on the device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, victims should still be on the lookout for any suspicious messages that ask them to provide a PIN or personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These could be attempts to obtain the necessary data to bypass the lock screen and compromise a victim’s apps, or to steal additional sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of whether you use a physical SIM card or an eSIM, phone theft victims should try to get another person’s phone and immediately request that their network operator hard lock their SIM card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will prevent incoming and outgoing phone calls and SMSs to the number linked to that card, potentially avoiding substantial financial losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They must also report the incident at a South African Police Service station for a case number, which is necessary to get a new SIM card from their network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) users must request a SIM lock via their particular providers’ customer contact centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Afrihost Air Mobile subscribers must call 0800 011 000 or WhatsApp 071 883 5005 to request a lock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The appropriate channels for requesting a SIM card lock on the four major mobile networks are outlined in the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another way to avoid this particular threat is to use an embedded SIM (eSIM). These digital SIM cards are tied to a chip integrated into the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As long as the victim has a lock screen PIN or biometric unlocking set up on their phone, the thief cannot easily access apps or information stored on the device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, victims should still be on the lookout for any suspicious messages that ask them to provide a PIN or personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These could be attempts to obtain the necessary data to bypass the lock screen and compromise a victim’s apps, or to steal additional sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of whether you use a physical SIM card or an eSIM, phone theft victims should try to get another person’s phone and immediately request that their network operator hard lock their SIM card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will prevent incoming and outgoing phone calls and SMSs to the number linked to that card, potentially avoiding substantial financial losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They must also report the incident at a South African Police Service station for a case number, which is necessary to get a new SIM card from their network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) users must request a SIM lock via their particular providers’ customer contact centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Afrihost Air Mobile subscribers must call 0800 011 000 or WhatsApp 071 883 5005 to request a lock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The appropriate channels for requesting a SIM card lock on the four major mobile networks are outlined in the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n