What are the red flags of this scam?

Your phone unexpectedly shows no signal or 'SOS only' — call your carrier from a different phone immediately, before checking your banking • You receive a text from your carrier confirming a SIM swap you never requested — this means the swap has already happened • You receive password-reset emails for bank or email accounts you did not trigger • You cannot log into your banking app at the same time your phone loses service • Someone called your carrier earlier that day asking questions about your account — carriers sometimes flag this in notes

What should I do if this happened to me?

If your phone loses signal unexpectedly, call your carrier immediately from a different phone and ask them to cancel any SIM swap in progress or restore your number • Call your bank at once from a landline or different mobile and ask them to freeze your accounts and flag for suspicious transactions — do not wait until you have your number back • Switch from SMS-based two-factor authentication to an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator) or passkeys on all banking and email accounts — these cannot be intercepted via SIM swap • Ask your mobile carrier to add a SIM-swap PIN or a verbal password so that no swap can be approved without it • Check all accounts for transactions you did not make and report each to the relevant bank or service — banks are required to investigate APP fraud and unauthorised transactions • Report to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

CRITICAL banking Last reported: 30 Sept 2026 Share

Your phone suddenly loses signal — fraudsters have hijacked your number to drain your bank accounts

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. A criminal calls your mobile carrier pretending to be you and transfers your number to a SIM they control. With your number they intercept SMS verification codes, reset banking apps, and drain accounts in minutes. UK cases surged 1,055% in 2024 and rose a further 38% in 2025.

A criminal calls your mobile carrier pretending to be you and transfers your number to a SIM they control. With your number they intercept SMS verification codes, reset banking apps, and drain accounts in minutes. UK cases surged 1,055% in 2024 and rose a further 38% in 2025.

Also known as: SIM swap fraud UK, SIM hijacking UK, phone number port-out scam UK, mobile number takeover fraud, SIM swapping bank account drain

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 If your phone loses signal unexpectedly, call your carrier immediately from a different phone and ask them to cancel any SIM swap in progress or restore your number
2 Call your bank at once from a landline or different mobile and ask them to freeze your accounts and flag for suspicious transactions — do not wait until you have your number back
3 Switch from SMS-based two-factor authentication to an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator) or passkeys on all banking and email accounts — these cannot be intercepted via SIM swap
4 Ask your mobile carrier to add a SIM-swap PIN or a verbal password so that no swap can be approved without it
5 Check all accounts for transactions you did not make and report each to the relevant bank or service — banks are required to investigate APP fraud and unauthorised transactions
6 Report to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

Red flags

⚠ Your phone unexpectedly shows no signal or 'SOS only' — call your carrier from a different phone immediately, before checking your banking
⚠ You receive a text from your carrier confirming a SIM swap you never requested — this means the swap has already happened
⚠ You receive password-reset emails for bank or email accounts you did not trigger
⚠ You cannot log into your banking app at the same time your phone loses service
⚠ Someone called your carrier earlier that day asking questions about your account — carriers sometimes flag this in notes

Known variants

Carrier-impersonation vishing variant (2026): fraudster calls the victim posing as the carrier's fraud team, warning that a SIM swap was 'attempted by criminals'. The call harvests the victim's security answers, which the fraudster uses to perform the real swap moments later — the victim believes they are being protected.

Last seen: 9/30/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources