Summary

Tom Handy shares his personal experience of having his phone cloned, leading to unauthorized access to his bank account and the subsequent steps he took to regain control of his personal information and finances.

Abstract

In an article on Medium, Tom Handy recounts the harrowing experience of phone cloning, where scammers gained access to his phone number and manipulated his bank and phone accounts. The incident, which occurred after a casual lunch with friends, began with an inability to access his bank account and escalated to discovering unauthorized ATM withdrawals in Georgia. Handy details the extensive process of contacting his bank and phone provider, changing his phone number, and securing his other accounts. He emphasizes the importance of taking proactive security measures, such as using a Google Voice number, to protect personal information. The article also provides insights into the prevalence of such scams and offers advice on additional scams to be aware of, underscoring the vulnerability of personal data in the digital age.

Opinions

The author believes that phone cloning is a brutal event that can have devastating effects on one's life and finances.
Handy suggests that phone companies and banks should improve their security protocols as phone cloning "happens quite often."
He expresses the necessity of being vigilant with personal information, especially with the convenience of modern smartphones which contain a wealth of sensitive data.
The author advocates for the use of a secondary "fake" number, like a Google Voice number, to safeguard one's real phone number from potential scammers.
Handy implies that the recovery process after identity theft can be painstakingly long and complex, emphasizing the importance of prevention and quick action if compromised.
He acknowledges that despite the challenges, securing one's personal information is crucial and worth the effort, as evidenced by his own experience with identity theft.

You Need to Know How to Outsmart a Scammer and Save $3000

This scam could easily wreck your life

Have you ever had your phone cloned? Well, I did about three years ago.

Let me say, it’s not a fun experience. This can be the most brutal event you’ll go through as someone has access to your phone and takes your money.

If you’re not fast enough, they’ll rob you blind and you won’t know what happened as they walk away with your money and your life.

What is phone cloning?

Let’s start with the basics so you understand where I’m coming from.

Phone cloning is copying the identity from one phone to another.

Basically, someone takes hold of your phone number through your sim card. They’ll contact the phone company and convince them that they’re you. Once the phone company believes the scammer, the scammer will then have access to your phone.

In some cases, they can read your messages, access your passwords, and view your contacts.

When this happened, I didn’t know what cloning was when I called my bank and couldn’t access my bank account for some reason.

Another way a person can clone your phone is they will physically steal your sim card. They can then use the stolen sim card in their phone.

Newer phones have an embedded sim card (eSIM) making it hard to steal. The eSIM card is embedded into the phone.

Background

I remember this was a Friday afternoon and I finished having lunch with some friends. Then I received a message from my bank and tried to access my bank account. I tried to log in to my bank account to see what the message was but couldn’t. I figured there must be a bad connection and would try again later.

When I arrived home, I tried to access my bank account a second time. I still couldn’t access my account.

I thought something was really weird since I tried at least five times to log in to my bank account.

Step 1 Call your bank

I thought something was weird so I called my bank. Customer service asked me if I made an ATM withdrawal for $2000 in Georgia.

I told them no and I live thousands of miles away. I have not visited Georgia.

Customer service reviewed my account and said I had changed my cell phone number and recently changed my debit card pin.

Customer service said I had my phone cloned and said this happens quite often.

Step 2 Call your phone provider

After the bank said they would cover the ATM withdrawals, I had to contact my phone provider and explain the story to them.

I got a hold of my phone provider which was T-Mobile. After explaining the details to customer support, this wasn’t a fast process.

As I explained what happened to one person, I was redirected and explained the story again to another person.

When this was finally over, I probably spent 14hours on the phone trying to explain to the bank and my phone provider that I lost access to my bank account and my phone was cloned.

I lost 14 hours I’ll never get back.

Step 3 Get a new phone number

Since my phone number was hacked, I had to get a new phone number. I had a Philadelphia number for 15 years at that point and had to get a new number.

This was hard to do but I figured this would be well worth it. My security was important.

Then I had to contact all of the companies that had my number and change the phone number to the new one.

Step 4 Change the password on other accounts on your phone

Since someone had access to my phone, I had to change the password to the other apps. I had to change the password to my bank and investment accounts.

I didn’t want someone to hack into my other accounts since someone had planned this out very well.

Change the password to your emails, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and any websites you opened an account.

Step 5 Get a fake number

Since someone was able to get my phone number and change my bank and phone accounts, I decided to get a Google Voice number.

I use this number to hand out to people so people don’t know what my real phone number is. The only organizations that know are the bank and phone companies.

Take extra steps to secure yourself

These days, you can’t trust anyone. People will rob you blind. Taking a few extra steps will help.

Always know where your phone is so someone doesn’t steal your sim card. The recovery process to fix everything can be painful and take up a lot of your time.

The smartphone we carry around today is like a minicomputer that has a lot of your personal information. Just losing it will really cripple you and could cost you a lot of money if it falls into the wrong hands.

These are some other scams you should be aware of.

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Have you ever had your phone cloned before?

Tom Handy is a top Writing, Finance, Investment, and Bitcoin writer on Medium, and the father of two kids. He retired from the Army and sits on several non-profit boards. You can find him on Twitter @tomhandy1.