In September, Michigan State Police warned about scammers who call people soon after a new phone is delivered. The caller poses as the carrier and claims the wrong device was sent, citing details from your real order. A return label follows, addressed to the scammer.
In Atlanta, a woman got that call 27 minutes after her new iPhone arrived. The caller knew the model and storage size. She had it on its way to a townhouse in Maryland within two hours. Her carrier, Xfinity, says it never calls to ask customers to return a new device.
Fall is when this pays off for scammers. New phones launch, carriers push trade-in deals, and a new device lands on your doorstep while the old one goes in the mail.
Your phone number is the bigger target
Banks and email providers text login codes to your phone number. A criminal who moves your number to their own phone, in what’s called a SIM swap, receives those codes and can reset your passwords. People reported $17.4 million in SIM swap losses to the FBI last year.
An old phone that’s still signed in to your accounts stays connected to your photos, messages, email, and saved passwords.
What to do before you trade in
- Lock your number. Major carriers offer a setting that blocks anyone from moving your number to another phone. Verizon’s is off by default. Turn it off only while you move your line to the new phone, then turn it back on.
- Move your login codes first. Make sure login codes, by text or by app, reach the new phone before you erase the old one.
- Sign out, then erase. On an iPhone, sign out of your Apple Account, then choose Erase All Content and Settings. When asked, erase the eSIM, the phone’s built-in SIM card. On an Android phone, remove your Google account in the Settings app before you reset. Otherwise the phone will ask the next owner for your Google password.
- Hang up on surprise return requests.Call your carrier at the number on your bill. Ship a phone only with a label from your online account.
- Already shipped it? Call your carrier right away. Ask it to disable the phone. Xfinity shut off the Atlanta woman’s iPhone before it reached Maryland.
- Report it. File at ic3.gov, and at IdentityTheft.gov if someone took over your number or opened accounts in your name.
Scammers sound convincing when they already have pieces of your information. Aura alerts AICPA members when their SSN, email address, or phone numbers turn up in a data breach, and removes your personal information from data broker sites that sell it. Get up to 68%* off and a 60-day money-back guarantee** on annual plans.