WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I SUSPECT MY NUMBER HAS BEEN ILLEGALLY TRANSFERRED?

Fraudulent and illegal mobile number porting is when your personal details are used to “port” or transfer your mobile number from one provider to another without your consent.

If you suspect your number has been illegally ported, you should immediately.

  • Report the activity scams or suspicious activity you’ve come across to the Australian Federal Police or the relevant State or Territory Police;
  • Report any suspicious activity to Scamwatch and the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network;
  • Contact your bank ASAP to see whether scammers have accessed your bank account. As you won’t have access to your mobile phone number if the number is ported across, any verification codes sent to your mobile phone by your bank for things such as bank transfers, may be accessible by the scammer, so it’s important to update your bank of the situation and advice of any fraudulent transactions;
  • As the scammer may have access to social media profiles, email accounts and banking details. You should change the passwords for all your important online accounts, including social media, banking and other accounts which personal information

  • Ask your bank to set up a secret pin number or password that only you know, to identify yourself when you contact them
  • Be cautious about listing and mentioning your mobile number online
  • Check your social media profiles to ensure your mobile number is hidden from public viewing
  • Remove your birthday from public view on social media.
  • Create strong passwords for your online accounts and use different passwords for different accounts. If you have lots of online accounts, consider using a password manager such as LastPass
  • Wherever possible, use two-step verification to log in to your online accounts. Two step verification is when you are sent a verification code via SMS or email that needs to be entered before you can log in to an account
  • Keep your personal email inbox clean. Delete phone bills, bank statements and other emails that may include personal information. If your email account is compromised, you can minimize the risk of scammers obtaining sensitive information