Is it a scam if someone gives you a free public mobile sim card ?

[7ustin]

How can I suspend my number whilst in transit? What if I found out that the giver made a phone call with my sim to a scammer?  What should I do when I receive the sim to protect myself?

[LurganIeUk]

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

Personally have NEVER been taken advantage of on eBay or Craigslist. But I do my due diligence checks first. 

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 @LurganIeUk Nor have I. Maybe I should go on and list free sim cards, delivered. I'll send you the number with my code, you register it with my code, I get the referral message and I send you the card. I never see your account info. Hmmm......

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Correct and the very very highly skeptical will assume they won’t get the card and the giver, you, will begin to use it or will loose their 99 cents. 

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@LurganIeUk You're a rally killer! I though I had a foolproof second career lined up. Thanks a lot! lol.

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Sorry, I did not mean to. I sell stuff on CL all the time always weeding out. Some small dollar things I mail and the buyer  eTransfers me......it’s a savings vs time and driving expenses or transit expenses. 

[kb_mv]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

Personally have NEVER been taken advantage of on eBay or Craigslist. But I do my due diligence checks first. 

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 @LurganIeUk Nor have I. Maybe I should go on and list free sim cards, delivered. I'll send you the number with my code, you register it with my code, I get the referral message and I send you the card. I never see your account info. Hmmm......

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Correct and the very very highly skeptical will assume they won’t get the card and the giver, you, will begin to use it or will loose their 99 cents. 

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@LurganIeUk You're a rally killer! I though I had a foolproof second career lined up. Thanks a lot! lol.

[LurganIeUk]

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

Personally have NEVER been taken advantage of on eBay or Craigslist. But I do my due diligence checks first. 

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 @LurganIeUk Nor have I. Maybe I should go on and list free sim cards, delivered. I'll send you the number with my code, you register it with my code, I get the referral message and I send you the card. I never see your account info. Hmmm......

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Correct you only see the SIM # and their name (and that can be fake) and address while  the very very highly skeptical will assume they won’t get the card and the giver, you, will begin to use it or will loose their 99 cents. 

[LurganIeUk]

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@darlicious wrote:

@7ustin 

Once you recieve the sim card message the moderators and change the email to your newly created one,

The eBay seller may know the email address from eBay or PayPal but that may not be the email that the buyer uses to set up my account. 

change the pin#, and change the security question and answer.

The seller won’t know that. 

Then on your own change the password, your name and address. Change those 3 things for 3 months in a row.

Password change...not needed. Name and address yes....or make phony to start with (so it won’t match your eBay or address you provide for mailing  the SIM. 

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[kb_mv]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

Personally have NEVER been taken advantage of on eBay or Craigslist. But I do my due diligence checks first. 

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 @LurganIeUk Nor have I. Maybe I should go on and list free sim cards, delivered. I'll send you the number with my code, you register it with my code, I get the referral message and I send you the card. I never see your account info. Hmmm......

[LurganIeUk]

Not every eBay seller is a scammer. And if there is one....he won’t last. Think about it. 

Ebay seller gets rated from his buyers. 

Prospective buyers look at his ratings and the negative responses from other buyers. 

Then weed out the false negative responses 

Also review the sellers responses to the buyers negative responses 

The sellers % does not mean much if sales are low. Go by how many negative sales he has NO MATTER WHAT HIS % IS.  It won’t take too many before he packs it in. 

The only scam is not the FREE or 99 cents.....it is the possibility he might use your plan!!

When you do the pre activated  deal keep in mind the seller has an investment in the SIM card he is mailing to you. And you have an investment in the plan you bought in the activation process. You are both temporarily in a partnership. The seller is looking for only one referral from your friends and family group.....as, as soon as you have an account YOU have a referral code to use. That is all he is looking for...one referral......and likely will provide you with personal support, before and after. 

You should suspend your plan OR watch for activity on your plan while SIM is in transit. 

Sure the seller has your name, address, and “possibly” your phone number and email address from your eBay account. But to protect you against SIM jacking from these deals or even if you buy the SIM at a retailer......put in a phony name and address on your account. I did that a long time ago to protect against SIM jacking. Screen print your account with that information and also note your PIN, EMAIL ADDRESS AND PASSWORD for your account access, and keep it in a safe place with any other records you may have. 

If you do see activity on your account while SIM is in transit....either suspend account or bite the bullet and buy a new SIM and register it your account. 

Personally have NEVER been taken advantage of on eBay or Craigslist. But I do my due diligence checks first. 

[Mike40999]

I think he just wanted to used his referral code to get credit.

[DovahQueen]

When you activate the SIM online it will tell you if it is a viable SIM otherwise you will receive an error 

[DovahQueen]

This is only a worry if the SIM is activated, but if you’re really worried about it the sim is only 10$ I would suggest simply purchasing one online or in a store if available to ease your mind.

[geopublic]

@7ustin  It's not worth saving $10 to purchase a card via eBay because the seller now knows your name, address and sim card number and phone number.

So for anyone reading this post best to purchase a card from a reputable source and if you need a referral just ask here.

Just suspend your account by declaring your phone stolen and change your password and profile info and you should be okay.

If you are still concerned purchase a new sim and swap it using selfserve. You can do the swap immediately without having to wait for your sim to arrive.

Good luck! 😬

[Mattredwingsfan]

If you are looking to change your phone number:

sign in to Self-Serve,
select ‘Change Number' under 'My Profile' on the Overview page.
choose to select a new phone number

Cheers & Good Luck

[darlicious]

@7ustin 

For some peace of mind suspend your service using the lost/stolen feature in your account. You can unsuspend it when you recieve the sim card. Access your voicemail and set it up with a pin # that is not the same as one you chose during your activation. Check your voice mail daily and/or immediately if you see a call forwarded to your voicemail. If your account email is linked to any other account create a new one to switch your account to with the moderators.

Once you recieve the sim card message the moderators and change the email to your newly created one, change the pin#, and change the security question and answer. Then on your own change the password, your name and address. Change those 3 things for 3 months in a row.

[computergeek541]

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@7ustin wrote:

Good idea! I will do it.  The PM website seems down for maintenance atm... how about the scam phone number? Will I be charged if they leave voicemails or keep calling? Can I block them from calling and leaving messages in my voicemails? Thank you! 

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Telemarketers do sometimes call random blocks of phone numbers.  You don't get charged when someone leaves you a message, nor does it use up any of your minutes if you're on a plan with limited minutes.  I would not be concerned about people calling your number, but rather only with any outgoing calls that may be made.  Also, if outgoing calls are being made, check if they are to a number that ends in 4001. If the number ends in that, these are only calls being forwarded to your voicemail. This does not mean that anyone has made any outgoing calls, although the Public Mobile usage history will saying it's outgoing.

 Yes, there can be potential issues buying from ebay, but I don't see any indication here of a seller performing some type of scam. If the seller is using ebay and SIM cards to get referrals (many people are using this exact same techniquie to get referrals), that means that they are already Public Mobile customers. Public Mobile customers usually have unlimited phone calls in their plans anyways, so an ebay seller has nothing to gain by making phone calls using your SIM card.

[Korth]

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@7ustin wrote:

What do you mean by compromised Sim?  What can they do with the long number on sim?  Will I be track or hack?

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You can google things like "SIM swap", "SIM scam", "SIM theft", "SIM hack", etc. Thieves can do all sorts of things with stolen information, always inventing new ways to steal stuff.

They could use your SIM card info to steal access to your phone number and account, or clone a SIM card to piggyback onto your account, basically just steal a month of service for a burner phone. But they could use that to steal more of your identity, maybe hijack your email and social media and cloud stuff, maybe login to any online banking/financing you've got. Sometimes they just vandalize and abuse it to discredit the victim (sometimes this is exactly why they target celebrities, etc), but usually they instead "ransom" it back for money/etc ... after draining everything they can.

SIM thefts are a first step towards being a big victim ... the thief could have more complete access to your accounts and documents and "proof of identity" than you do, while you on the other hand aren't even aware of a problem until suddenly your phone doesn't work, your accounts all lock you out, and even your bank/paypal/bitcoin/whatever doesn't accept your proof of identity (which has already all been changed).

[7ustin]

What do you mean by compromised Sim?  What can they do with the long number on sim?  Will I be track or hack?

[Korth]

Seems like more than an allegation - and very likely a scam setup - if a random online stranger has been observed accessing your personal accounts.

$10 (for a new SIM card) and a little time to change all your passwords seems like a small price to pay for "security". A small price to regret not paying later if your "security" is compromised in costly ways.

[LurganIeUk]

Alleged eBay scammer. And is likely not the scammer in this thread. 

[Korth]

Once the SIM card has been compromised it's compromised forever.

The scammer has already demonstrated the capability and the lack of ethics. He could exploit the SIM card again tomorrow. He could exploit it again at any random time years from now. For as long as the SIM card remains active.

Shut down the old SIM card. And order a new SIM card - from a reputable source (like directly from Public Mobile). Change all your Self-Serve information, password, backdoor "secret question" stuff. Maybe change all your cloud login stuff, email password, phone number, voicemail PIN, etc ... just to be sure there's no more hooks. You don't know how much information about you the ebay scammer may have obtained from other sources, you don't want to let him exploit any 2FA mechanisms to regain access to your life.

"eBay" and "security" do not have a meaningful correlation in the real world. The secret number printed on your SIM card and the little chip inside it are almost as valuable to thieves (and can be as damaging to victims) as the secret number and little chip built into a credit card.

[Anonymous]

 @RosieR : My ever humblest deepest apologies for not being the brilliant, all-seeing, all-knowing, perfect poster.

The OP was not being exactly forthcoming with information. Excuse me for living.

[JK8]

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@7ustin wrote:

Good idea! I will do it.  The PM website seems down for maintenance atm... how about the scam phone number? Will I be charged if they leave voicemails or keep calling? Can I block them from calling and leaving messages in my voicemails? Thank you! 

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All current plans are unlimited except for the $15 plan which has 100 outgoing minutes. Checking your voicemail with your phone will count towards the outgoing minutes. Change your number at the 30 day mark if you are worried about your number.

[RosieR]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Wow. So he held your SIM hostage while he waited for you to use his referral code. That's the last 4 digits thing. I hope your SIM actually arrives. I would use the Lost/stolen feature to suspend it.

Shaking head.

Edit: this was an edit after seeing more from the OP.

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Of course the giver will hold the $10 sim in ransom until the giver sees the referral has been used. Then the Sim is shipped. Is the giver going to mail the Sim and never see his referral used? Nope. 🥴🥴

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@LurganIeUk  @Anonymous goodness gracious!  Has it all come to this?  Geesh!  

[7ustin]

Good idea! I will do it.  The PM website seems down for maintenance atm... how about the scam phone number? Will I be charged if they leave voicemails or keep calling? Can I block them from calling and leaving messages in my voicemails? Thank you! 

[LurganIeUk]

Hey, Hey lets get this thread merged with the previous that was started. I think this is a hoax as @7ustin is not responding to questions to allow to help effectively.  

[JK8]

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@7ustin wrote:

What will happen after I report the sim as lost/stolen in transit?  I hope the sim can still be used when I receive it so that I have a chance to correct the security problem. Thank you.

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A person will not be able to use the SIM card if lost in transit. When the sim arrives just take it off lost/stolen.

[7ustin]

What will happen after I report the sim as lost/stolen in transit?  I hope the sim can still be used when I receive it so that I have a chance to correct the security problem. Thank you.

[JK8]

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@7ustin wrote:

Hi guys, I have bought a sim from eBay for the referral deal but during delivery someone has used it to call the number of a scammer.  I have activated the sim and opened an account myself so that I can see the record.  I still haven’t received the sim yet but am worry about the security of it.  Any advice on how to correct the problem, change phone number, block the scammer... would be appreciated. 

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Log into your self service account and put it in lost/stolen mode while it is in transit. You can also change your number every 30 days in self service. Make sure your account has a good password. So the seller knows nothing about your self service account? Eg. Pin, username, password?

You can always ask a moderator to change your pin and username if the seller knows that information. Choose chat bubble in lower right hand corner.

[LurganIeUk]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@JK8 wrote:

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@7ustin wrote:

I activated the sim and opened an online account myself.  The seller from eBay just verified the last 4 digi of my phone number and posted me the sim.  I still haven’t received it but can see that someone has made a call the a scammer for 30 seconds.  I goggled the number to find out it was the number of a scammer... I’m worry about the security of the sim and help advice on correcting this issue. Thanks

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Log into your self service account and put it in lost/stolen mode while it is in transit. You can also change your number every 30 days in self service. Make sure your account has a good password. So the seller knows nothing about your self service account? Eg. Pin, username, password?

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The seller could have received the PIN that the OP created while having the SIM in a phone.

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That’s why when you set up your account your name and address should be incorrect and documented. That will help prevent a Sim jack. 

[LurganIeUk]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Wow. So he held your SIM hostage while he waited for you to use his referral code. That's the last 4 digits thing. I hope your SIM actually arrives. I would use the Lost/stolen feature to suspend it.

Shaking head.

Edit: this was an edit after seeing more from the OP.

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Of course the giver will hold the $10 sim in ransom until the giver sees the referral has been used. Then the Sim is shipped. Is the giver going to mail the Sim and never see his referral used? Nope. 🥴🥴

[Anonymous]

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@JK8 wrote:

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@7ustin wrote:

I activated the sim and opened an online account myself.  The seller from eBay just verified the last 4 digi of my phone number and posted me the sim.  I still haven’t received it but can see that someone has made a call the a scammer for 30 seconds.  I goggled the number to find out it was the number of a scammer... I’m worry about the security of the sim and help advice on correcting this issue. Thanks

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Log into your self service account and put it in lost/stolen mode while it is in transit. You can also change your number every 30 days in self service. Make sure your account has a good password. So the seller knows nothing about your self service account? Eg. Pin, username, password?

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The seller could have received the PIN that the OP created while having the SIM in a phone.

[7ustin]

Hi guys, I have bought a sim from eBay for the referral deal but during delivery someone has used it to call the number of a scammer.  I have activated the sim and opened an account myself so that I can see the record.  I still haven’t received the sim yet but am worry about the security of it.  Any advice on how to correct the problem, change phone number, block the scammer... would be appreciated.