If your phone number is compromised and ends up in the wrong hands, they can do all of these things. How do you know if it has been leaked
Do you think your phone number has been leaked? This can pose a serious risk to your security. We will tell you how it can affect you. Hackers can use very different strategies. It is essential to know the risks and, in this way, take the necessary measures to prevent information from being stolen, malware from being introduced or the proper functioning of devices from being compromised.
When you discover that your phone may have been hacked, it is important to act as quickly as possible to minimize the risk of attacks. First, you should be wary of receiving any strange messages or calls from unknown numbers. Always check all of this and do not accept anything you cannot trust.
- What happens if the mobile number is leaked?
The problems can be very diverse, from falling victim to a phishing attack to receiving calls with well-crafted strategies. The goal will always be similar: to compromise your security and trick you into clicking where you shouldn’t and thus steal your data or infiltrate your phone with a virus.
- Launching more sophisticated phishing operations
One of the risks of leaking your phone number is that an attacker could launch more sophisticated phishing attacks. What does that mean? For example, they could find out something else about you, such as whether or not you use an online service or have a bank account. From there, they could send you a text message impersonating that bank or online service.
What they are looking for in this is for you to click on a fake link. By knowing more about you and having certain prior information, these attacks can be more prepared and therefore the hacker has a greater chance of success. It is essential not to make mistakes and only log in through official pages.
- Social engineering
Something similar can happen with social engineering. They can add you to platforms like WhatsApp, for example. By having your number, they will have an easier time doing this. From there, they will try to gain your trust. They may impersonate another person, company, etc. They will use strategies to trick you.
It is common that they seek to create some need for you. For example, they can arouse some curiosity so that you open a link or install a program. It will not always be quick, because sometimes it can be a scam that they will prepare for weeks. They will try to gain your trust, talk to you, until the opportunity arises and they ask you to install a program to test something, send you a file, etc.
- Receiving a lot of spam
Of course, leaking your phone number online will result in unwanted messages. This is known as spam. It can be annoying ads, but it can also be messages containing fraudulent links or malicious files. They can be part of a massive campaign.
To prevent this from happening, it is important to work on not leaking your number. If it is too late and it has been leaked, you should avoid interacting with spam messages of this type that you receive. Never click on the links they send you or avoid providing the information they may ask for.
- Fraudulent calls
Another option available to cybercriminals is to use this filtered number to make fraudulent calls. As in the previous cases, they can use completely different strategies. They may call you to offer you something, alert you to an alleged problem, impersonate a company or brand, etc.
Be careful with these types of calls. Never provide any more personal information, give out access codes, or anything similar. It is important to maintain common sense and minimize the risk of security issues as much as possible.
In short, if your phone number is leaked, you could face a variety of problems. You should always avoid making mistakes, protect your equipment, and not make things easy for attackers. Whenever possible, try to remove your number from the place where it was leaked, such as a social network.
Finally, to find out if your number has been leaked, read this article: I found something that doesn’t please me... A site where you should put your email so that you can know all your leaked information that is spread on the dark web.