Dictionary

simjacking en · NOUN

Etymology

Blend of SIM + hijacking.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) 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.
   • 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. 2018 October 17, Emil Hozan, “Everything Your Need to Know About SIM-Jacking”, in Secplicity:
   • 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. 2020 September 13, Shane Hickey, “Sim-swap fraud is on the rise. How can you stop it happening to you?”, in The Guardian:

Forms