Mobile porting threat
damage done to her business and get her mobile number back, which had been moved across to Vodafone.
It can take surprisingly little information to port-out a mobile number to a different carrier. Ms Johnston was told by an Optus staff member that it only requires someone’s name, address and date of birth to move a number across.
Many victims report having had their mail stolen, a way for fraudsters to get the details like names and account numbers.
It’s a typical tactic for fraudsters to port-out the number at the close of business hours, particularly on a Friday afternoon, making it more difficult for victims to contact the necessary customer services and halt the process, giving the fraudster time to exploit their window of opportunity.
“These people are professionals,” Ms Johnston said, remarking on what felt like a clinical takeover of her accounts by criminals.
“I am furious with Optus and Vodafone for not doing more thorough security checks, as the money that was taken is to pay my mortgage for the month.”
Despite it being somewhat of a blind spot for telcos, they’ve been slow to act and introduce tougher default measures to mitigate against the threat of illegal porting.
Dr Terry Goldsworthy is a former detective inspector for the Queensland police who now works as an assistant professor at Bond University. He began researching the prevalence of illegal porting early last year but says reliable data is almost non-existent.
In April last year the NSW police created a phone porting category for complaints, however if they do get reported to police or consumer bodies most cases typically get filed as instances of generic fraud.
“The actual offence numbers are getting diluted,” Dr Goldworthy said.
“I’m sure it’s happening more than we know.”