The mobile operator is not able to prevent the issuance of duplicate SIM cards to intruders

On the Internet, the story is gaining momentum with the repeated issuance of a duplicate of the same SIM card to attackers and the subsequent theft of funds.

In short, fraudsters, using a fake power of attorney, issued a duplicate SIM card of the victim, and then, using a duplicate, stole a substantial amount of money from various mobile and bank accounts. Similar cases have certainly occurred before. The highlight of the situation is that this time a well-known and high-ranking person became a victim of scammers, and a duplicate of a SIM card was issued several times a day in different operator’s offices (and different cities). Moreover, the subscriber has already been set to “block” the issuance of duplicates to all operator’s offices, except for one, and then only upon presentation of the passport and code word by the subscriber (but not a power of attorney).

The telecom operator showed complete helplessness in this situation and not the ability to protect its subscriber, and the management of the telecom operator company took steps, the result of which is not yet clear, only after publicizing the story to a wide audience. Until that moment, the company limited itself to providing bonus 2000 rubles to the account of the affected subscriber. And if the financial losses of the victim can still be somehow compensated, then the leak of confidential data can be a much bigger problem . What to do as a mere mortal who does not have the ability to “reach the operator” in this way? Fraudsters act quickly and smoothly, and operators are extremely slow in dealing with such complaints.

How to avoid a similar situation in the conditions of complete helplessness of a mobile operator:

0. If a duplicate of a SIM card is detected, immediately block such a SIM card and all payment accounts and bank cards associated with it.
00. Call the office of the bank and the mobile operator or block via the Internet, if there is still such an opportunity, do not waste time on a hiking path.

1. Use a separate telephone and telephone number to work with online and tele-banking.
2. If sms is enough for authorization, use a primitive mobile phone, not a smartphone.
3. Do not give this phone number to anyone anywhere .
4. Do not install absolutely no unnecessary applications if you use a smartphone for these purposes.
5. Do not use a browser or mail on this smartphone.
6. Do not bind all your accounts to one mail and / or one phone number.
7. Do not use obvious or simple passwords for banking or payment applications.
8. Disable geolocation in all built-in social applications on your smartphone.
9. Use a separate application store account for a smartphone that stores access to payment and bank accounts.
10. Do not buy “anonymous” Sim cards for your main accounts. This can be a trap for intruders.
11. At the earliest opportunity (and later on regularly) check in the operator’s office how many SIM cards are registered in your name.
12. If you manage a large amount of money through online banking, ask the bank for the " crypto calculator " service.

UPDMeanwhile, the telecom operator officially admitted that among its employees there are scammers . Given the fact that such stories are not the first time, it can be assumed that not everyone will be covered.

UPD 2 According to information from other subscribers, the telecom operator continues to respond extremely slowly to complaints about the theft of SIM cards from less privileged customers.