Whenever you buy anything online, subscribe to a new service, meet a new friend, or sign up for any kind of text notification, it's something you inevitably share. It turns out that, in the wrong hands, that simple piece of information can be used to steal your identity and take over nearly every online account you have.
Connect to mobile networks
And it's surprisingly easy for hackers to do just that in a simple two-step process:. The hacker tells your carrier to "port out" your number to a different phone--one in the hacker's possession. If your provider asks questions such as your address and date of birth to confirm this is you, the hacker will answer them correctly.
Soon the hacker has switched your phone and is able to receive calls and texts intended for you.
5 Reasons Why You Might Unlock Your Phone
You will probably continue receiving calls and texts as well, so you may have no idea that anything has changed. The hacker doesn't know your password.
But that's OK. The hacker can tell your email software that he or she "forgot" the password and have a reset sent to "your" mobile phone.
You've probably given your email provider your mobile phone number as a backup in case you ever forget your password, in which case this is a pretty easy step. Once the hacker has access to your email account, it's easy to gain access to any of your other accounts--just click "Forgot Password" and wait for a password reset link to arrive in what was once your email.
If you have two-factor authentication enabled on any of your accounts, the secret codes will be sent to the hacker at "your" phone number.
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He or she can even gain access to your bank accounts, and if the hacker calls the bank, their caller ID will make it look like the call is coming from you. Are you scared yet? You should be. This is not a theoretical security flaw. This reset sends your phone's new information to the network so that you can get service. It can also be useful to run this reset if you're having trouble getting voice, text or data on your CDMA phone.
Carrier reset for CDMA devices – Ting Help Center
Don't worry - this step only wipes the old phone number from your phone; it will not wipe any personal photos, videos, contact info or other files from your phone. In some cases, you'll need your phone's unique Master Subsidy Lock code MSL so it's good to have that handy before you start.
If your phone doesn't prompt you for an MSL when you're running this reset, don't worry—it just means that it's not needed. Certain Android phones such as many HTC phones have slightly different steps to do the same thing:. These directions are for the iPhone 5 and later. The iPhone 4 and 4s do not have a "Reset Subscriber Settings" option.