They use your stolen personal information to pass security checks.
Unfortunately, however, hackers have found ways to reroute your number.
Mobile phone companies have security features to prevent scammers from making changes to your account. Once criminals have your phone number, they can engage in a range of identity theft schemes. Here are descriptions of the eight ways hackers could use your phone number to steal your PII - and cause financial damage. Blackmail you using your sensitive data.Doxxing that leads to harassment and fraud.Take over your phone with a SIM swap scam.🛟 Related: How Hackers Get Into Your Computer (And How To Stop Them) → What Can Hackers Do with Your Phone Number? Make sure to shred any documents that contain your phone number and other personal information. Nefarious individuals can rifle through your garbage to find sensitive information. In a more sophisticated version of the shoulder surfing scam, hackers hack public Wi-Fi and intercept any information you submit to a website. Scammers can also listen in and steal your phone number while you’re in public places. Phone numbers were the fourth most-common pieces of personal information leaked via data breaches in 2021. Among other things, this is where criminals buy and trade personal information that is often stolen during a data breach. Beneath the publicly accessible section of the internet lies the Dark Web. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, researchers discovered over 611,000 phishing sites. Once the scammers gain your confidence, they can direct you to a website to obtain personal information, like your phone number. Criminals fool unsuspecting victims by sending emails or texts that impersonate legitimate organizations. Placing your number on websites and social media networks makes it easy for criminals to contact you and initiate fraud schemes. Here are some more tips on how to enhance your social media privacy. While that can help with platform security, it creates a potential security risk for your identity protection. Many social media platforms allow (or even require) users to list their phone numbers. Here are five common ways a thief may try to find your telephone number: “People search” sites like WhoEasy collect and sell your personal data to telemarketers and hackers.Įven if you’re cautious about what you share online, it’s not always possible to keep your number safe from criminals.
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