Public Mobile Porting Protection

[darlicious]

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/port-fraud-protection

By coincidence I learned earlier today that public mobile has finally implemented additional porting protection for its customers. With no announcement or notice I only learned that the following information has been added to the help articles when @computergeek541 supplied the above link to me after I posted asking for clarification from @Catherine_T as i thought this had already been in place.

        Curious to see how public mobile customers would learn of this long overdue change to add additional security to their accounts and phone numbers I googled it. All that appeared were old questions from the community that if viewed would not install confidence....especially if you were a new potential customer. Next I typed in the search bar in the community the same question "Does public mobile have porting protection?" Again only mostly old questions with outdated information showed up not a single reference to the newly posted info in the help articles. This should be the first thing to pop up when you put the two words "port protection" in the search bar.

Here's hoping this post/thread will help educate pm customers on this new and welcome change on behalf of public mobiles efforts to improve our service and our account/phone#'s security. Bravo Public Mobile! Keep up the good work.....we appreciate it....or at least I do!

Porting your number to another service provider

To help protect our customers from fraud, Public Mobile will send you an SMS text message should we receive a request to transfer your mobile phone number to another carrier. This step is designed to protect your account by confirming if the request is genuine or fraudulent. The SMS text will read as follows:Public Mobile Message: We’ve received a request to transfer this phone number to another service provider. To approve or cancel the transfer, please visit this link.Please note that you must approve or cancel this transfer within the next 90 minutes. If we don’t receive a response within this time, the number transfer request will be automatically cancelled. Thank you.If you have made a request to port your number to another carrier and have not received an SMS from Public Mobile to confirm your request, please open our chatbot via this and type in “port issue”. This will put you in touch with our moderator team who will be able to assist you.

Edit: Ok so a few days go by and every thing changes again....so here's the update public mobile customers no longer have any extra port protection against fraudulent porting by criminals just the respond to the text.......heres the official word and just ignore everything in the green and above the green and just read what's in red below........

To help protect our customers from fraud, Public Mobile will send you an SMS text message should we receive a request to transfer your mobile phone number to another carrier. This step is designed to protect your account by confirming if the request is genuine or fraudulent. The SMS text will read as follows: Hey, it’s Public Mobile. We received a request to cancel your account and transfer your phone number to another carrier. If you requested the transfer, no action is required. If you did not make this request, please immediately open our chatbot via this link bit.ly/2GF1pHW and type in “unauthorized port”. This will put you in touch with our moderator team. Free msg.

[darlicious]

@treefrog 

This is is unfortunate that reverting back to the old way has really created no extra protection at all!

[treefrog]

@darlicious 

It looks like there's been another victim this morning as you already have seen. It's too bad public mobile suspended the new port protection.

[darlicious]

@kb_mv 

Yes @Danchvn has a great idea already mentioned probably in every discussion on this subject for the last year at least. Holy flip flops pm! Now I have to go edit my post....you take a couple of days off to get stuff done and all the hard work unravels in a day or two......

[kb_mv]

@Triguy I think you missed the point. This whole thread is about the on again off again port protection, reply, don't reply issue. @Danchvn has a great idea IMO.

[Danchvn]

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@Triguy wrote:

@Danchvn  PM does send out a text about porting 

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-help/articles/port-fraud-protection

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@Triguy Yes, I do know that and said that in my post. I was simply stating that I suspect it shouldn't be to difficult to have it changed so the user must respond to allow the port.

[Triguy]

@Danchvn  PM does send out a text about porting 

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-help/articles/port-fraud-protection

[kb_mv]

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@Danchvn wrote:

Either that or a simple "Do Not Port" check box in the self serve account which would require the user to un-check it before the port would be allowed.

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@Danchvn What a great idea!

[Danchvn]

This doesn't seem to be such a hard thing to do. The system already sends out a text saying a port was requested so I would think a little programming would allow the system to deny the port until it received a confirmation from the user. Either that or a simple "Do Not Port" check box in the self serve account which would require the user to un-check it before the port would be allowed.

Enough of my rant. Hopefully it is just a momentary setback.

[geopublic]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

The port protection program has been discontinued again across multiple carriers, including Public Mobile. The Public Mobile help pages have now reverted back to saying to contact a moderator if  you received a notification about that but didn't ask for a port out.

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Wow, Public Mobile back to 😮😖👎 I guess convenience is more important than security and identity theft!!

[gblackma]

@computergeek541 Post  a thread about it. And why? They finally have a method to protect he customer. And they reverse the onus back onto us? It makes absolutely no sense . Stay safe. 

[Anonymous]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

The port protection program has been discontinued again across multiple carriers, including Public Mobile. The Public Mobile help pages have now reverted back to saying to contact a moderator if  you received a notification about that but didn't ask for a port out.

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Frickin frackin what is their problem?! Back to open season aiding and abetting a fraud. Nice goin' carriers.

SMS interaction should be the easiest thing.

[computergeek541]

The port protection program has been discontinued again across multiple carriers, including Public Mobile. The Public Mobile help pages have now reverted back to saying to contact a moderator if  you received a notification about that but didn't ask for a port out.

[Anonymous]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yay.

There's one for my post count.

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Can I join in?

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Why looky there! You just did! And me again! 🙂 But nor am I counting.

[computergeek541]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yay.

There's one for my post count.

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Can I join in?

[Danchvn]

It's great to hear that this protection is in place. I never even heard that this type of activity of stealing someone's number was taking place until I started reading it hear on the forums and it had me somewhat nervous. I for one have no issue with having to take the extra step to confirm it is really me asking for the port, not that I can see me leaving Public Mobile anytime in the near future. 😁

[dac13]

Good info to know.  Thanks for sharing!

[darlicious]

@gblackma 

Yes see my link in my second to last post....

[gblackma]

@computergeek541 , @darlicious  this was the post that I referred to 

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Self-Serve/Got-an-unauthorized-port-text-and-we-cant-...

[darlicious]

@Anonymous 

Yes.....you now have 79 more posts than me this month. Since you are counting......

[Anonymous]

Yay.

There's one for my post count.

[darlicious]

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Self-Serve/Got-an-unauthorized-port-text-and-we-cant-...

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Using-Your-Service/quot-Fido-quot-trying-to-steal-my-...

@Jb456 

I knew it was in the works....then two weeks ago I thought it was good to go in the second link. But early this morning i learned differently courtesy if @computergeek541  via the first link.

[computergeek541]

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@gblackma wrote:

@computergeek541 has it actually been implemented?  There was someone here yesterday that had the old negative porting message that required them to contact the moderators to stop the port.

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It should be active today, and that would be consistent with the help pages being updated again. To my knowledge, I believe that the previous discussion was about a port out on the weekend.

[gblackma]

@computergeek541 has it actually been implemented?  There was someone here yesterday that had the old negative porting message that required them to contact the moderators to stop the port.

[geopublic]

Wow, it's about time!! 👍 Should be able to slow down the criminals a little bit more with this new measure. I'll take protection over convenience any day of the week!!

[popping]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@popping wrote:

Good to know if we do not reply to PM text message within 90 minutes.  The port out request will be canceled or on hold until we create a moderator support ticket to get it port out again.

This procedure is safe for PM subscribers.  It is better safe and take a bit longer to port our number out so that scammer cannot get hold of our number in case we are busy at the time the text message came in.

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The potential downfall is for people actually porting out how will put a new sim in their phone when they activate their new service.  How are they supposed to know that you need to leave your old PM sim in until you verify the port request?  If they take it out and don't answer then the port fails and they don't have their number with their new service.

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But s/he will ask after the new provider after waiting for a day or two.  There is a danger that if the number porting is done at retail stores and store rep may discard PM SIM card.  But creating a moderator support ticket with get it ported out. I prefer this and reading threads here on people's bank account was emptied by SIM jacker.

[computergeek541]

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@Jb456 wrote:

@darlicious  I tried finding the thread but it's been so long now. I remember months ago when a bunch of people were getting sim jacked. Either Alan K or Tiana responded saying they have implemented that protection of what's on your link. 

I can't seem to find that thread unfortunately....

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I believe that they were still working on it at that time. Before a couple of weeks ago/a few weeks ago, there was no porting protection in place other than a message to notify the customer that the number would be ported out soon.

[Jb456]

@darlicious  I tried finding the thread but it's been so long now. I remember months ago when a bunch of people were getting sim jacked. Either Alan K or Tiana responded saying they have implemented that protection of what's on your link. 

I can't seem to find that thread unfortunately....

[ShawnC13]

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@popping wrote:

Good to know if we do not reply to PM text message within 90 minutes.  The port out request will be canceled or on hold until we create a moderator support ticket to get it port out again.

This procedure is safe for PM subscribers.  It is better safe and take a bit longer to port our number out so that scammer cannot get hold of our number in case we are busy at the time the text message came in.

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The potential downfall is for people actually porting out how will put a new sim in their phone when they activate their new service.  How are they supposed to know that you need to leave your old PM sim in until you verify the port request?  If they take it out and don't answer then the port fails and they don't have their number with their new service.

[popping]

Good to know if we do not reply to PM text message within 90 minutes.  The port out request will be canceled or on hold until we create a moderator support ticket to get it port out again.

This procedure is safe for PM subscribers.  It is better safe and take a bit longer to port our number out so that scammer cannot get hold of our number in case we are busy at the time the text message came in.

[darlicious]

@Jb456 

Thanks! I fixed it.