The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is set to announce details of an investigation into major SIM swap fraud.
Detective David Coffey from the Financial Crimes Unit is Project Disrupt’s lead investigator. The news conference will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Toronto Police Headquarters.
SIM swap fraud involves a fraudster tricking a mobile carrier into transferring a victim’s phone number to a new SIM card to commit financial fraud, steal money, or perform identity theft.
The fraudster often collects the victim’s personal information, such as their name, phone number, and other details.
The scammer can then contact the mobile carrier while posing as the victim and request a SIM swap or SIM replacement, which transfers the victim’s phone number to a new SIM card.
Once the SIM swap is complete, the scammer gains access to that phone number, which can lead to the interception of text messages and calls, including those used for two-factor authentication.