As many of you know, SIM swap fraud is a big issue across all carriers. T-Mobile in particular has had quite a number of cases in recent years. About a month ago, the carrier disabled self-service SIM changes to implement new security changes, and they’re now ready for primetime. This article will explain how to enable the SIM protection feature for your lines.
Self-serve SIM changes are still not quite ready, but the new SIM Protection features are. Customers can now activate the new protections on both an individual line basis and at the account level.
Why is SIM protection necessary?
Enabling the SIM block protection will prevent any SIM changes on the enabled line until the block is removed. This block can only be removed by sending a two-factor code to the legitimate customer, preventing an unauthorized attacker from completing a SIM swap.
Here’s how to enable the SIM protection via both the T-Mobile app and the website. Customers can also visit a T-Mobile store or contact support and have a representative activate the protections for you.
Enabling SIM protection via T-Mobile App
Step 1: Open the “Account” tab, then tap “Profile Settings”.
Step 2: Tap “Privacy and notifications”.
Step 3: Tap the new “SIM protection” option.
Step 4: You will see a list of all your lines. You can either turn on SIM protection on individual lines, or use the top option to enable protection on every line at once. When finished, scroll down and click “Save changes”.
Enabling SIM protection via the T-Mobile website
The process to enable SIM protection on the web is very similar to the app.
Step 1: Click “My account” at the top right, then click “Profile”.
Step 2: Scroll down and click “Privacy and Notifications”.
Step 3: Click “SIM protection”.
Step 4: Enable SIM protection for individual lines or all lines on the account, then scroll down and click “Save changes”.
