New York (WABC) — Wireless giant T-Mobile announced a personal data breach this week. 37 million customer information leaked to hackers.
It’s the eighth time in five years that the company’s security has been leaked. Some customers now claim they have paid the price and are targeted by cybercriminals.
With so many companies reporting major breaches, you have to assume that your personal information has been exposed.
According to the FBI, these leaks hijacked mobile phones via SIM cards, tiny microchips that make mobile phones mobile phones. And cybercriminals are profiting, stealing a record $68 million a year in secret exchanges.
Both Veronica Burgos and Ivanka Dalangin are T-Mobile customers whose bank accounts were deleted when their phones went offline.
Dalangin withdrew $20,000 from her account and Burgos lost $60,000.
Teacher Burgos took three jobs to save that money. She was on a flight out of Disney World with her son when the fraudulent wire transfer occurred.
Dalangin had a job as a registered nurse. She says that after her phone was reconnected, she received a text confirming her $20,000 wire transfer to “Michael A.”
Both women were victims of SIM card swap fraud. Cybercriminals hijack your phone after convincing the service provider to switch chips containing phone numbers, text her messages, contacts and PIN numbers to new phones.
This allows scammers to hijack messages from another phone and transfer money from your bank account.
Both women said they had their Citibank accounts emptied, and the bank responded to text messages and phone calls when their phones were dark to tell them they authorized the transfer.
Burgos said Citibank called and spoke with Veronica, who confirmed the transfer.
Burgos gave Citibank his boarding pass as proof that he could not transfer money. Dalangin then showed an email detailing the T-Mobile service disruption.
Each filed a police report. However, Dalangin’s claims were dismissed and the bank did not return her $20,000 to her, despite flagging her two other fraud accusations on the same day.
One was a $2,000 charge on a Citi Costco Visa and was blocked. Also refunded his Zelle fee of $1,500.
7 On Your Side went to bat for both customers. Banks did not bow to her Dalangin lawsuit, so she took both companies to court.
However, the next day after contacting Citibank, Burgos got all the stolen money back in time for the wedding.
Due to customer privacy, Citibank was unable to tell 7 On Your Side why some customers were refunded and others were not.
T-Mobile’s CEO said he was “really sorry” for past leaks, saying his company “didn’t live up to expectations of protecting our customers…”
Key takeaways to prevent SIM card swapping: Look for apps that use text-agnostic two-factor authentication and authenticate using fingerprints or face scans.
Also, be sure to change your mobile account PIN and password. Use something powerful, not a pet name.
Also, find out about hijack protection, a paid feature on your phone.
Also read | Delta to investigate anti-Semitic allegations against flight attendants on New York flight
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