How cybercriminals steal one-time passcodes for SIM swap attacks and raiding bank accounts


The incoming phone call flashes on a victim’s phone. It may only last a few seconds, but can end with the victim handing over codes that give cybercriminals the ability to hijack their online accounts or drain their crypto and digital wallets.

“This is the PayPal security team here. We’ve detected some unusual activity on your account and are calling you as a precautionary measure,” the caller’s robotic voice says. “Please enter the six-digit security code that we’ve sent to your mobile device.”

Read more…
Source: TechCrunch


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • TransUnion says hackers stole 4.4 million customers’ personal information

    August 28, 2025

    Credit reporting giant TransUnion has disclosed a data breach affecting more than 4.4 million customers’ personal information. In a filing with Maine’s attorney general’s office on Thursday, TransUnion attributed the July 28 breach to unauthorized access of a third-party application storing customers’ personal data for its U.S. consumer support operations. TransUnion claimed “no credit information was ...

  • Jamaica: Cyber attack on Office of Registrar General contained, but services impacted

    August 27, 2025

    The Office of the Registrar-General (ORG), formerly the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), says it was affected by a cyber incident detected on Sunday and is working to determine its full scope. “Our initial assessment indicates that this incident was primarily designed to disrupt the availability of our systems,” the ORG said Wednesday. “As investigations are still ...

  • The first AI-powered proof of concept ransomware has been spotted

    August 27, 2025

    Security researchers from ESET have identified the first known AI-powered ransomware, which serves as a warning for security teams as generative AI has, and will, continue to make cyberattacks much more accessible for criminals. Peter Strycek and Anton Cherepanov discovered the proof of concept, which they dubbed ‘PromptLock’, which, ‘leverages Lua scripts generated from hard-coded prompts ...

  • Nevada hit by cyber attack disrupting state services for thousands

    August 27, 2025

    A cyber attack targeting Nevada’s state technology systems has left thousands of residents without access to vital services for days, with many offices still struggling to restore full operations. The attack, which began early Sunday morning, forced the closure of numerous state agencies, including the DMV, State Police, and Attorney General’s offices on Monday and Tuesday. ...

  • Deception in Depth: PRC-nexus espionage campaign hijacks web traffic to target diplomats

    August 25, 2025

    This blog post presents Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) findings and analysis of this espionage campaign, as well as the evolution of the threat actor’s operational capabilities. GTIG examine how the malware is delivered, how the threat actor utilized social engineering and evasion techniques, and technical aspects of the multi-stage malware payloads. In this campaign, the ...

  • A new security flaw in TheTruthSpy phone spyware is putting victims at risk

    August 25, 2025

    A stalkerware maker with a history of multiple data leaks and breaches now has a critical security vulnerability that allows anyone to take over any user account and steal their victim’s sensitive personal data, TechCrunch has confirmed. Independent security researcher Swarang Wade found the vulnerability, which allows anyone to reset the password of any user of ...