simjacking

English

Alternative forms

• SIM-jacking

Etymology

Blend of SIM +‎ hijacking

Noun

simjacking (uncountable)

1. A social engineering technique in which a person poses as the owner of a mobile phone number and convinces the provider to transfer it to a new SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) owned by the fraudster.
   • 2018 October 17, Emil Hozan, “Everything Your Need to Know About SIM-Jacking”, in Secplicity:

     Over the past year, we’ve seen reports of SIM-jacking, a particularly malicious attack hackers are using to assume control of victims’ digital and financial lives.

   • 2020 September 13, Shane Hickey, “Sim-swap fraud is on the rise. How can you stop it happening to you?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Variously called sim splitting, simjacking, sim hijacking and port-out scamming, the fraud focuses on moving control of someone’s phone account from their sim card to one controlled by the criminal.