Ian McGinley Talks SIM-Swapping Fraud with Payments Dive
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Payments Dive has quoted Akin Gump white collar partner Ian McGinley in its article “SIM swap schemes threaten mobile payments,” which discusses the rise in subscriber identity module (SIM)-swapping fraud schemes.
The publication describes SIM swapping, or “SIMjacking,” as someone fraudulently, and successfully, convincing a cellphone provider to activate a new phone under another’s account and move the victim’s SIM data to the new phone—giving the criminal access to all data stored on that phone, including financial accounts from which the criminal can steal.
In response to the rise in this type of cybercrime, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed amendments to regulations involving customer proprietary network information and local number portability. Among the proposed rule changes, McGinley noted, is increased training for mobile companies and their employees and a 24-hour delay in SIM card activation, among other methods to deter these attacks.
Speaking to the proposed amendments and recent lawsuits brought by crypto investors, McGinley, former Co-Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, offered a piece of advice to organizations, “It’s wise to be vigilant in this space.”