BBC One – The One Show – eSim Cards

We have heard how some fraudsters are taking over the accounts of mobile phone network customers like Ms Jackson and Mr Mitchell – who have had eSim cards activated in their name. Ms Jackson had her bank details hacked by scammers and Mr Mitchell’s phone stopped working as a result.

We contacted EE and it said it was sorry that Ms. Jackson’s personal details were compromised by scammers and that they were able to access her EE account to request a replacement sim. It said it had secured her EE account and provided a new sim to prevent further fraudulent activity. Ms. Jackson has also been given a gesture of goodwill to acknowledge her experience and she has accepted this to resolve her complaint.

EE said that it continues to review and introduce additional technical measures and policies to better protect against fraudulent SIM swaps. It said that it urges customers to use unique and strong passwords for their accounts and to contact EE, their bank and the authorities immediately if they notice any suspicious activity

We also contacted O2 and it said that Mr Mitchell was the victim of fraud after his email address was hacked, which provided the scammer with a significant amount of the customer’s personal information and the ability to pass multi-factor authentication on his O2 account. As soon as the fraudulent activity was reported to o2, it took quick action to bar the eSIM, with the case fully investigated by its fraud team and a new replacement SIM sent to Mr Mitchell’s home address within five working days.

This fraud was only able to occur because of a security breach elsewhere, which served as a gateway for scammers to try and access other accounts. To help protect themselves against fraud, it is essential customers use strong, unique passwords for each important account and update them regularly. Customers should also get in touch right away if they receive any texts from O2 referring to activity they don’t recognise such as password changes or PAC codes, as this is an early sign of fraud.