30/01/2024
ACTIVATE SIM CARD LOCK TO PROTECT YOUR FUNDS AND INFORMATION
By Echela Okwori Maddoxman
When your phone is stolen or snatched off you, it is usually not the phone that was the target. It is the SIM.
Of course, expensive phones are also targeted. But the ultimate goal of the thieves or r0bbers is to maximize the gains of stealing from you. In most cases, a SIM is guaranteed to give them more than a phone.
An expensive phone can be sold to people who buy stolen items. Or it can be resold as a "fairly used" phone after being formatted to factory settings.
In all, what the thieves would get from suspicious buyers of the "fairly used" phone or from buyers of stolen items is small, compared to the real value of the phone.
A SIM card on the other hand can present an opportunity to access your savings. The thieves can access your Tax Identification Number, (TIN) your National Identification Number, (NIN) and your Bank Verification Number (BVN) amongst other confidential info.
With your SIM, the thieves can carry out financial transactions in your name and receive a token to authenticate the transaction.
They can use the codes they now have to change your PIN. This is why I say when your phone is stolen or snatched by r0bbers, it is the SIM that is the target, not the phone.
The SIM can open a window to millions of savings, depending on the victims. They can even take loans on your behalf. But the value of a stolen phone is grossly impaired.
A citizen's phone was recently stolen in Nyanya, Abuja. It happened very fast.
At a crowded motor park where he wanted to get a cab, a team of pickpockets targeted him.
One of them walked towards him and intentionally collided with him.
In a fraction of a second, another one had snatched his phone while an apology was being used to distract him.
The stolen phone was then passed to another guy who disappeared into thin air
When this citizen discovered his phone had grown wings and flown away, he knew immediately how it had happened. He pounced on the collider and raised an alarm.
With the hardship in the land, many people are hungry and angry. They are looking for an opportunity to let off their anger. Jungle justice was unleashed on the suspected thief. He was be@ten blue black!
No one would really know if he feigned unconsciousness or truly fainted, but he dropped down and stopped moving after receiving a rain of angry blows from the mob.
As a policeman walked towards the scene of the confusion, everyone involved in the dishing out of jungle justice disappeared. The guy was saved. He didn't die.
Later, when our fellow citizen called his stolen line, he was berated for taking extreme actions over a "common" smart phone. They still went ahead to do justice to the funds that could be accessed though his SIM.
This is what you must do to protect your SIM. Do it after reading this piece and don't forget to say "thank you."
Go to SETTINGS on your phone. Tap SETTINGS and go to SECURITY. Tap SECURITY and go to SIM CARD LOCK.
Tap SIM CARD LOCK and press the button to enable it to ON. You will be prompted to put in a password.
For MTN users the default pin is 5 zeros 00000. Check Google to get the default for your network. It should be 4 zeros. Be intentional. Get the correct pin or your line would be blocked!
Change the default pin. You'll be prompted to first input the old pin which is the default. After the default pin, you would be required to put your new pin twice. The second time is for confirmation.
When you finish this, you will receive a confirmation that you have successfully enabled a SIM card lock. What this means is that if your SIM enters a new phone or device, your PIN would be required before it can be used. The thieves, if they ever ever steal your phone, (God forbid! Not our portion! Fayaaaa!) would destroy your SIM and mutter "bad market" because they won't be able to use it.
Go and do it now!
Thanks to Chukwudi Chris and Omole Emmanuel Olusayo who contributed to my earlier update on what to do when one's phone is stolen.
Idaago Story
Idaago Story Group
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