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Unauthorized number porting

access
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

I recently heard about a new problem of people having their phone numbers ported fraudulently to unauthorized criminals. What is the best way to protect my Fido phone number from this type of illegal activity. I use the normal 2 factor verification all of my sensitive email and banking. However most these 2 step verification request go by text to my phone. This practice becomes useless if the unauthorized user has taken control of my phone number. 

Does Fido have a procedure in place that protects me from having my number ported to a new carrier without my being aware of the transfer.

37 REPLIES 37

meesh5
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

Didn't work for me !!!!!!

 

someone just ported my number and i never recieved any text nothing and the freaking office is closed!!!!

they got into so many emails and accounts.

 

Luckily they got nothing and i secured the accounts = at least for now but your office is closed and there's no way to deal with this until you open hopefully tomorrow but it's a long weekend!! i can't believe the damage that could be done overnight never mind a few hours - how is it i was told this is impossible by more than one person including a manager - you have voice identification, you have a pin number, and you are supposed to send a text - wtf happened?!???!?!??!

 

how did they get my number?!??!

and all i can do is deactivate a device online?!???!

and your hours are obviously east coast time??!! the person timed it perfectly !! happened after your offices closed on a saturday long weekend!!

 

sounds like an inside job to me!!!

 

WHAT IS A PERSON SUPPOSED TO DO!???!?!

SOMEONE HAS STOLEN MY IDENTIFY BASICALLY AND YOU'RE OFFICE IS CLOSED AND I CAN'T GET ANYONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO REPLY!!!

AA4848484
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

From what I read here this issue is not SOLVED - It is marked solved to brush off customer’s issue. The system as it is indicated here has no fail safe.

 

Confirmation and Positive response to text HAS to be the requirement to process the porting - ANY competent system designer would have a proper fallback/failsafe condition

 

Hey there @AA4848484

 

Please note that the post is marked as a solution, because it answers the question in the original post. We'll be sure to update it as well.

 

With that said, I'm sorry you feel that way. You'd be happy to know that since, we've updated our security procedures for a port out, and an SMS verification is required to authorize it.

 

To port out your number, an SMS will be sent to your phone/line and you'll have 90 minutes to authorize it before it expires.

 

Hope this helps Smiley

 

*** UPDATED SOLUTION 



AA4848484
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

 

Thanks for the response - So based on what you said if the confirmation reply is not sent by customer within 90 minutes the request gets cancelled and no change is made, correct?

Hello @AA4848484,

 

That's correct if the customer does not reply to the text within the time frame the port is rejected.



meesh5
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

BUT NOBODY TEXTED ME AND SOMEONE PORTED MY NUMBER !!!!!!!! AND THE OFFICE IS CLOSED !!!!!

Geprge
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

A newspaper article today (June 03) on unauthorized porting mentions Rogers offers a service called "port protection" and recommends calling your provider and having it added.

I cannot find anything on the Fido website that mentions this "service".

Does Fido have this service?

 

FidoSaad
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey there @Geprge

 

We offer different options to secure your account and your lines. Have you had the chance to contact us to go over them with our agents?

 

You can do so by reaching out to us at these channels. Hope this helps Smiley



meinwinnipeg
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

 

Hello

 

I have to assume this may be a perfectly fine answer - I saw this post & have further questions

 

If a cell # was already ported- would the SMS actually be received by the original cell phone ?

 

has fido tested this ?

 

Please advise

 

 

Hello Meinwinnipeg,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  The SMS to which the solution above refers would be sent to the original SIM prior to the port-out. That would allow the owner to contact the verification team to prevent any port-out.

 

  If a number has already been ported-out then the original SIM would be deactivated. Any SMS would be received by the new SIM with that phone number.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 


mocco
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

This porting scam is gaining momentum in Canada and your way of dealing withit does not protect your subscribers.

There needs to be a better stronger safeguard put in place on our accounts where its takes more than a simple warning text that as you have already heard is easily missed. You should at least send multiple texts and have a 2 week waiting period. If the porting request is for real your subscriber will have time to get back to you.

You are treating this like a " who cares their leaving" scenario when in fact loyal customers identities are being put at risk. Help us please,

 

 

Hello Mocco,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 


@mocco wrote:.. You should at least send multiple texts and have a 2 week waiting period. If the porting request is for real your subscriber will have time to get back to you.

  I agree the SIM swapping SCAM is a serious issue. However, how about legitimate number porting? Customers wanting to change providers would want a fast and efficient process.

 

  The simpler solution (probably also plagued with its own issues) would be to not allow any porting until a confirmation reply SMS is received from the original SIM. Without the original SIM, scammers wouldn't be able to provide the confirmation reply. On the other hand, customers wishing to port the numbers to a different provider could confirm they wish to port the number without delay.

 

  One obvious issue with my suggested solution is that scammers could find a way to provide a confirmation reply by spoofing the phone number in consideration.

 

  I don't know if there is a perfect solution. However, any possible solution needs to take into account both possible scammers as well as legitimate customers.

 

Cheers

 


mocco
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

So what is FIDO going to officially do about it?

 

Thanks

Wdan7rx
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

This needs to be addressed immediately! Very similar to a domain name lock, you should instigate a phone number port lock. 

 

If you don't, more and more unlawful porting scams are going to plague the system, including hacked accounts, banking, credit cards, etc. 

 

This is a huge deal! 

 

An sms message *after* the port has completed is not good enough, the scammers can take control of accounts before you have time to act!! 

Hey @Wdan7rx

We hear your concerns and we definitely understand how this can be a worrisome situation. Rest assured that is the last thing we want for anyone. 


To clarify, we also send an SMS while the port-out is requested and not only after it is completed. This SMS in question is meant to help our customers stay informed that this transaction has taken place, also giving them the opportunity to cancel the request if it wasn't their doing. 


Customers’ privacy and security will always be a #1 priority for us and we're always working to combat these kinds of fraudulent activities and implementing steps to reduce them.

 



Nancy20
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Can you let us know how long the porting process takes after the SMS is sent? How long do we have to get back to you in order to stop the process from happening?

rlmbs
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

In response to this answer- "Whenever a port out is requested, you'll be advised by SMS right away for security purposes. If the port out wasn't authorized, you'll be directed by the SMS to call the Validation Team."  - why can't there be a requirement for the actual owner of the number to provide a password or some sort of authentication code before you allow the number to be ported? Why is it up to the victim of the scammer to get in touch with the Validation Team?  From what I've been hearing, it can take a while to get through to support and the number can be ported while you're waiting on hold! The code could be set up at the time the Fido account is created by the customer, with the understanding that no future porting will be permitted without that code being provided by the original owner. Just a thought...

FidoRanya
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

It's hard to say, the delay varies depending on the complexity of the request @Nancy20 . You have enough time to contact us as soon as the message is received though.

 

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions @rlmbs . We take protecting our customers’ personal information very seriously, and as fraudsters evolve their tactics, we work with other carriers to continually strengthen processes to prevent unauthorized porting. 

 

 



Lvervaet
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Can I please tell you I don't want my number ported, unless I verify my identity? If I lock down my number would that not prevent the scam from happening?

mocco
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Soooo

You are getting good feedback from your subscribers with ways to solve your problem. Why not send our concerns to your manager instead of skirting the question. It seems to me like your subscribers want a proper safeguard in place to protect their identities. Clearly the one you have in place now has holes in it.

 

regards