Sim-swap fraud claims another mobile banking victim

Chris Sims' account emptied and loan for 8,000 taken out as fraudsters continue to exploit way banks use customers' mobiles

Chris Sims was sitting in his Nottingham home a fortnight ago when his iPhone, on the EE network, suddenly stopped working. Within 75 minutes the fraudsters who had hijacked his phone had, through his online banking app, emptied his bank account of 1,200 and applied for an 8,000 loan in his name. But Sims is just the latest victim of a financial scam that is sweeping Britain: sim-swap fraud.

When Sims rang EE, it soon emerged that someone posing as his wife had managed to persuade the mobile network to activate a new sim card - in effect giving the fraudsters control of his mobile number. The crooks were then able to reset all his mobile banking passwords, using his phone as identity, and the passwords being sent to the phone.

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