If your mobile number has been taken over, transferred to another SIM, or ported to another mobile provider without your permission, act immediately.

An unauthorised takeover of your mobile number can allow someone to receive your calls and SMS messages, including security and verification codes used to access online accounts.

This guide explains what to do if you suspect your number has been compromised.

How can someone take over your mobile number?

There are two common ways this can happen:

Unauthorised mobile number port

An unauthorised port occurs when someone contacts another mobile provider, impersonates you and requests that your mobile number be transferred from Aatrox to that provider.

Unauthorised SIM swap

A SIM swap occurs when someone contacts the mobile provider that currently services your number and impersonates you to have your number transferred to another SIM or eSIM.

In either situation, the person who obtains control of your number may be able to receive your calls and SMS messages, including verification codes.

Additional identity verification for mobile number ports

To help protect customers from unauthorised mobile number ports, an additional identity verification process is used to verify the identity of the person making a porting request before a mobile number is ported.

This additional verification is intended to help prevent someone from fraudulently transferring your mobile number to another provider.

Signs your mobile number may have been compromised

You may be experiencing an unauthorised SIM swap or port if:

• Your phone suddenly shows "No Service" or loses mobile connectivity.

• You stop receiving calls or SMS messages.

• You receive an unexpected notification about a SIM, eSIM, account or mobile service change.

• You receive notifications about account changes that you did not request.

• You are unexpectedly locked out of accounts that use your mobile number for verification.

• Your mobile service stops working even though there is no known network outage.

If this happens unexpectedly, contact Aatrox immediately.

What to do if you suspect your number has been compromised

1. Contact Aatrox immediately

Call the Aatrox Communications Helpdesk on 1300 645 699 as soon as possible.

Tell us that you believe your mobile number may have been subject to an unauthorised SIM swap or fraudulent port.

We will investigate the service and assist with securing and restoring your mobile service.

Where appropriate, we may need to:

• Suspend or secure the affected service.

• Investigate any unauthorised SIM or eSIM changes.

• Investigate whether the number has been ported to another provider.

• Assist with restoring your service to a secure SIM or eSIM.

• Take steps to prevent further unauthorised changes.

Do not wait to see whether the service comes back. Contact us immediately.

2. If you suspect your number was fraudulently ported, report it immediately

If you suspect that your mobile number has been fraudulently ported without your authority, you should immediately report the activity to:

• The Australian Federal Police (AFP) or the relevant State or Territory Police; and

• Government services that support customers affected by unauthorised mobile number porting, including Scamwatch where appropriate.

You should also contact Aatrox immediately so that we can investigate and assist with securing your service.

3. Secure your important accounts

If someone has obtained control of your mobile number, they may be able to receive SMS verification codes.

As soon as possible:

• Change the password for your email account.

• Change passwords for banking and other important online accounts.

• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).

• Where possible, use an authenticator app or security key instead of SMS-based authentication.

• Check your accounts for unexpected logins, password changes or other suspicious activity.

• Contact your email provider or other important service providers if you believe your accounts have been accessed.

Do not use SMS as your only form of multi-factor authentication for important accounts where another secure option is available.

4. Contact your bank and financial providers

If your mobile number is used to authenticate financial accounts, contact your bank or financial provider immediately.

Ask them to:

• Check for suspicious or unauthorised activity.

• Check whether any account details or security settings have been changed.

• Place additional security measures on your account where appropriate.

• Investigate any transactions you do not recognise.

How to reduce the risk of future attacks

You can reduce the risk of mobile-number fraud by:

• Using an authenticator app or security key instead of SMS for important accounts where possible.

• Keeping your email and online accounts protected with strong, unique passwords.

• Enabling MFA on important accounts.

• Being cautious about providing personal information online.

• Avoiding links in unexpected emails or SMS messages.

• Keeping your contact details and account information secure.

• Contacting your mobile provider promptly if you notice an unexpected change to your mobile service.

Need help?

If you believe your Aatrox mobile number has been taken over, contact us immediately.

Aatrox Communications Helpdesk - support@aatroxcommunications.com.au
Phone: 1300 645 699

If you suspect your number has been fraudulently ported, also report the activity immediately to the Australian Federal Police or relevant State/Territory Police, and to appropriate government support services such as Scamwatch.

The sooner the incident is reported, the sooner steps can be taken to secure your mobile service and affected accounts.