AT&T has launched a new security feature called "Wireless Lock" that protects customers from SIM swapping attacks by preventing changes to their account information and the porting of phone numbers while the feature is enabled. In some cases, threat actors conduct SIM swap attacks by tricking or bribing telecom employees into transferring numbers from customers' SIM cards to a new device. With the new AT&T feature, customers can log in to the company's mobile app or website to "lock" their number, preventing anyone, including AT&T employees, from porting the number to a new SIM card or transferring it to another provider unless the setting is first disabled. In 2021, T-Mobile warned some customers that attackers conducted SIM swap attacks to compromise other accounts they owned. Other recent attacks include eSIM hijacking campaigns where criminals activated electronic SIMs in victims' names to seize control of numbers. In 2020, Joseph James O'Connor, aka 'PlugwalkJoke,' pleaded guilty to conducting SIM swap attacks that resulted in the theft of $794,000 in cryptocurrency. SIM swap attacks are when cybercriminals port, or move, a targeted phone number to a device under their control.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:25:16 +0000