T-Mobile Hit with Class Action Over SIM Card Swap Scams

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A proposed class action alleges T-Mobile has negligently failed to protect consumers’ personal and financial information amid a rash of SIM card swap scams. 

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According to the 19-page complaint, fraudsters have taken to convincing T-Mobile to transfer access to a consumer’s phone number from their registered SIM card to the scammer’s SIM card, allowing the thief to access personal and financial data. A fraudster can accomplish this by claiming, for instance, that a victim’s phone was lost or damaged and then asking T-Mobile to activate a new SIM card in connection to the victim’s phone number on a new phone, the case explains. 

The filing alleges T-Mobile has failed to “exercise due diligence” or properly investigate these situations as the carrier has allowed scammers to improperly activate new SIM cards and thus receive all of a victim’s text messages, calls and data. Once armed with a consumer’s credentials, a scammer can easily log into their bank account and/or social media accounts and change passwords—or steal money—at will, the case says.

“Once a scammer has connected their SIM card with the victim’s phone number, the scammer is able to access anything that was previously accessible to the victim through their cell phone,” the suit summarizes, alleging “gross negligence” on the part of T-Mobile is to blame for the prevalence of SIM card swap scams. 

The plaintiff, an Illinois consumer and T-Mobile customer since 2021, claims to have lost more than $24,000 worth of cryptocurrency, and now owes crypto exchange Coinbase more than $2,700, as a result of the defendant’s irresponsible failure to stop the SIM card swap scams. 

During a December 2021 business trip in Texas, the plaintiff lost access to his SIM card, the suit relays. Days later, the plaintiff was informed upon a trip to a MetroPCS store that he had an outstanding charge of $140 to his cellular plan, a charge the man protested that he did not owe, the case says. 

Although T-Mobile removed the fee and restored access to the plaintiff’s phone, the man was once again unable to access his account roughly two hours later, the lawsuit claims. 

Upon returning to the same store, the plaintiff was told that he was effectively out of luck since his security codes, passwords and/or PINs were not working. Days later, the plaintiff came to learn that “several unlawful SIM swaps had occurred,” which prompted the man to file a police report. 

“During the multiple unlawful SIM swaps that occurred, scammers were able to access Plaintiff’s email accounts, banking accounts, and Coinbase account. Scammers took approximately $21,000 of cash reserves in Plaintiff’s Coinbase account to purchase Bitcoin and transfer it out, transferred approximately $2,700 from Plaintiff’s Bank of America account to Plaintiff’s Coinbase account to purchase Bitcoin and transfer it out, and sold approximately $378 of cryptocurrency in Plaintiff’s Coinbase account to purchase Bitcoin and transfer it out.” 

The suit goes on to allege that T-Mobile “failed to disclose or made deceptive statements” to cover up its apparent awareness that its security protocols “can and do fall short” in protecting customers’ data. In particular, the case says, T-Mobile has “failed to establish or implement reasonable policies, procedures, or regulations” around the creation and authentication of user credentials for authorized customers accessing T-Mobile accounts.

The lawsuit looks to cover all T-Mobile customers in the United States who, within the last two years, were victims of a SIM card swap scam and opted out of T-Mobile’s arbitration policy. 

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