What do you need to understand first?
An attacker may impersonate you to the mobile provider or take over the provider account. Accounts that use the number for recovery can then be at risk. A loss of signal can have ordinary causes too, so treat it as a reason to check rather than proof that every wallet has been stolen.
What might this look like?
Your phone suddenly loses service while an email announces a password reset you did not request. You use a separate known route to reach the mobile provider and affected account services. You do not use a number supplied by a new caller offering to restore the signal.
Where is the safety checkpoint?
How can you work through it?
Check service changes independently
Contact the mobile provider through its known support route. Ask about unexpected number transfers or account changes. Do not give a caller a code to reverse the problem.
Secure affected accounts
Use a trusted device and independently located recovery pages. Review unexpected logins and recovery changes, and tell affected financial services promptly.
Review phone-based recovery
Learn what account protections your providers support. Where suitable, use authentication that does not depend only on text messages, and protect its recovery method too.
Preserve the warning messages
Keep reset notices and provider references for reporting. Leave recovery words and security codes out of the evidence you share.
When should you pause?
Pause until you can check each point below without sharing spending secrets.
- The mobile provider was reached independently.
- Unexpected account recovery changes have been reviewed.
- No caller received a login or recovery code.