Number ported out without my permission, possible fraud

[ToffeeVic]

Hello,

I have/had a contract with o2 and I received a text message recently stating that my final bill would be produced as my account was being disconnected. I immediately phoned o2 and was told that a pac code had been used to transfer my number to another network. This is not something that I have requested and is now causing me a great deal of frustration and worry.

It appears that the number is now on Vodafone and I have been into a Vodafone shop who could only tell me that the number was being used on an unregistered pay as you go sim.

I have tried contacting o2 customer service who have told me that nothing can be done and this just seems absurd, can anyone tell me if it is possible to get my number back and account reinstated?

[pgn]

@ToffeeVic - We’re just customers like you but it sounds like you’ll need someone to access your account which can’t be done from here. If you message O2 on Facebook (https://o2uk.co/O2CFB) , Twitter (https://o2uk.co/O2CTW) or Instagram (https://o2uk.co/O2CIG) , they should be able to help you with this.

[MI5]

@ToffeeVic 

This is what has happened https://us.norton.com/blog/mobile/sim-swap-fraud

You need to report the incident to your bank to protect your bank accounts, change all passwords that you can and report it to action fraud https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

More O2 links with help:

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/safety-and-security/phishing-and-smishing-advice
https://www.o2.co.uk/help/safety-and-security/unwanted-calls-and-messages

[pgn]

Good info in that article, @MI5 - explains, to some degree, some of the current practices employed by O2 when a new SIM request is received.  Also explains why the Fraud team go quiet on it for so long, in a way... Your on-line accounts are only as secure as your ability not to reveal them.

[Oxonian]

How-to-Geek covered this subject recently too :-

How to Protect Yourself From SIM-Swapping Attacks (howtogeek.com)

https://www.howtogeek.com/668922/how-to-protect-yourself-from-sim-swapping-attacks/

[ToffeeVic]

So it appears I have been a victim of sim swap fraud, how I don't know, I think maybe possibly one of the apps on my phone because the hacker has since managed to get into my Hotmail and my Gmail accounts and has now today gained access to my WhatsApp.

I have contacted o2 who have since raised a fraud case but have not really been much helper other than that. I have heard nothing in over a week from them.

Really poor customer service.

[MI5]

As explained above @ToffeeVic 

You need to start by getting your number back and then reset all your passwords on any compromised accounts.

You won't hear anything from fraud until they complete their investigation, unfortunately, this will be a long wait.

ps. if you download malwarebytes app it will scan your phone for any dodgy apps installed on your phone.

[Aaaaaaaa]

The exact same thing happened to me !! And my number was disconnected and I reported it as soon as it happened to stop the porting but it still managed to get ported out to Vodafone !!! I have never experienced a worst service than this company …. Did you ever get to the bottom of this ? How can they allow such data breaches and get away with it !!!

[pgn]

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@Aaaaaaaa wrote:

The exact same thing happened to me !! And my number was disconnected and I reported it as soon as it happened to stop the porting but it still managed to get ported out to Vodafone !!! I have never experienced a worst service than this company …. Did you ever get to the bottom of this ? How can they allow such data breaches and get away with it !!!

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@Aaaaaaaa - you really ought to tag @ToffeeVic, the starter of this thread in Nov 2023 to see how they fared - they may see your query in their e-mail and come back here to share their experience.

Did you follow the excellent advice given above to secure your accounts and phone?

And such incidents are not restricted to O2: security if your phone and data in it is your responsibility, not that of your cellular/mobile provider.

I hope you are on the way to getting things safe ans secure again, at this stage, @Aaaaaaaa. Good luck!