Phone porting scams: What they are & how to protect yourself

Estimated reading time
 5 min

Key points

• Phone porting scams are when a criminal tries to take ownership of your phone number through an unauthorised transfer (the criminal transfers your phone number to an account with a new telecommunications provider) or a SIM swap (the criminal requests to activate a new SIM card with your number with your current telecommunications provider).
  
  
• If your phone suddenly goes into SOS mode, it’s important that you act quickly and contact your telecommunications provider to work out what’s happening – it might be a phone porting scam.
  
  
• Calling your telecommunications provider and requesting a PIN for your account is one of the many things you can do to protect yourself from phone porting

Picture this: Months ago, you received a text message, supposedly from a government agency asking for your personal information to receive a bonus tax refund. In the message, there was a link.

You clicked on it and provided your personal information – name, mobile, address and so on – however, the promised money never arrived.

Fast forward a few months, and your phone suddenly switches to SOS mode. Then you get an email saying you logged into a social media account from a different device. Or you see thousands of dollars get transferred out of your bank account, even though you activated multi-factor authentication.

“There’s no trend to mobile porting,” says Deepal Joshi from ANZ’s IDT Fraud and Customer Protection department. “Anyone can fall victim to a phone porting scam.”

Knowing the signs and acting quickly can help you get on top of the phone porting scam and put you in control of the situation.

What is a phone porting scam?

A phone porting scam (also known as a SIM swap scam) happens when someone transfers your mobile phone number to a SIM or eSIM they control. This allows them to receive your calls and text messages, including SMS security codes.

How does this scam work?

The act of phone porting is not a scam; it is a genuine service that lets you keep your mobile number when changing telecommunications providers. It becomes a scam when your number is transferred without your knowledge or consent.

If you are targeted by a phone porting scam, the criminal may contact a telecommunications provider and pretend to be you. They might say they are moving their number to another provider or need a new SIM (or eSIM) for a new device.

These scams usually happen after criminals get access to your personal information through phishing, impersonation scams, or data breaches, which can help them pass identity checks.

When this happens, criminals can take control of your calls and text messages, including SMS security codes used for multi factor authentication (MFA). This may allow them to reset passwords and can give them the ability to access other important accounts that rely on SMS based security checks.

Signs of a phone porting scam

You may be affected by a phone porting or SIM swap scam if:

• Your phone suddenly shows ‘SOS’ or ‘No service’, even though there’s no outage.
  
  
• You receive an unexpected SMS from your telecommunications provider about moving your number to a new device or provider.
  
  
• You get alerts about new logins on devices you don’t recognise and can’t access your accounts.
  
  
• You notice unauthorised bank transactions, especially where SMS codes are normally required.

How to protect yourself from phone porting scams

 STOP.

Pause before responding to unexpected calls, texts, or emails asking for personal information. Don’t click on unexpected links or download unknown attachments.

 CHECK.

Keep an eye out for the signs of a phone porting scam. If you notice anything suspicious, contact your telecommunications provider immediately.

 PROTECT.

• Set up a security PIN with your telecommunications provider
• Consider using another form of multi-factor authentication (e.g. app, biometrics)
• Don’t share personal or banking details, PINs, or one‑time passcodes for payments with anyone;
• Use strong, unique passwords or passphrases for all your accounts
• Shred bills, letters, and labels that contain personal information

Where to get support if you think you’ve been scammed

If you think your number has been ported fraudulently, contact your telecommunications provider straight away and report the unauthorised phone number transfer.

If you suspect fraud on your bank account, have shared financial information or transferred money as a result of a scam, please contact your bank. If you bank with ANZ, please contact us straightaway. Our Customer Protection Team is available 24/7 to help you.

You can also report scams to the Australian Government’s Scamwatch and the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s ReportCyber.

For additional support with identity or cyber security concerns, you can reach out to IDCare, a not-for-profit organisation offering expert support and frontline insights into scams, identity theft and cybercrime.