PIN to defend against SIM swap fraud

[stevencarrwork]

Can I set up a PIN as well as a password to defend against SIM swap fraud?

[JonathanB · Accepted solution]

Hi @stevencarrwork,

We've merged your two threads as they do seem to be the same question. I think you're asking for an additional PIN to be asked when you contact customer services? We don't have that specific feature, however all SIM swaps are high risk transactions, so you'd need to pass an OTP (One Time Passcode) check, or pop into store with photo ID to do a SIM swap.

For this type of fraud to happen, your OTP would have to be seen or disclosed by the 3rd party. The messages themselves are encrypted, so they should be safe unless you actually read or show this to a scammer. As the others are saying take care to protect your devices and various accounts online for instance with biometric options and unique passwords for each service.

As @jr0 mentioned, keep an eye out for communications from us as you should receive both texts and emails if any activities that could be a risk are detected, including SIM swaps, address changes, email changes as a few examples. 

I'd also recommend having a look over our fraud to watch out for page, there's lots of helpful info on recognising and reporting various types of fraud.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[stevencarrwork]

Thanks for the useful info.
SIM swap frauds are in the news because of the recent M&S computer hack, so people should be vigilant.

[JonathanB]

100% thanks for helping raise awareness about the issue.

[stevencarrwork]

How do I set up a PIN as well as a password on my3 website?

[Paddiewack]

If you download the my Three app you can set up biometrics (Face/Touch ID) which will give you extra protection. Then simply only access your account via the app not a browser.

[Paddiewack]

You’ve asked a similar question which I’ve answered but you can set up a pin on your sim card (sim pin) and also a passcode on your device (android or iPhone). Other than being blooming careful I’m not aware of any further precautions you can take. 

[jr0]

I agree with @Paddiewack  being careful and maybe having a good unique password for every account (I mean do not reuse passwords - password managers exist for a reason)

I don't know if Three does SMS and/or email when a new SIM or a new number is ordered but I hope they do, so always keep an eye on those communication channels.

@JonathanB  what are the channels used to communicate things like this. let's assume that someone's breaks into my3 and order a SIM swap or even porting over chat. Do we get any emails and/or SMS with the order/request?