The Parisian reveals the link between a series of stationary elevators in low-income housing and the middle of the SMS scam: stolen SIM cards.
In Île-de-France, more and more elevators are stopped in buildings managed by the Public Housing Office. In question, theft of SIM cards.
SIM cards in elevators?
Little is known about it, but modern elevators are connected to the Internet through a mobile connection with a SIM card. It is a concrete use of what was called a few years ago ” the Internet of Things “. It is in particular this system which makes it possible to manage the alarm inside the lift and to establish a line with a technician in the event of a breakdown.
Elevators could previously use PSTN wired lines, but the end of the historic analog network, scheduled for 2023, has prompted migration to more modern solutions based on SIM cards and the mobile network.
With this M2M (Machine-to-Machine) SIM card, the elevator can also collect and send usage data to improve its maintenance. For example, planning the change of a part.
It is therefore understood that without this SIM card, it is no longer possible to use the elevator without putting users at risk. No one wants to find themselves stuck in an elevator that is unable to contact the emergency services.
And SMS scams
An article from Parisian informs us that SIM card thefts in Île-de-France are not unrelated to SMS scam attempts. The phenomenon would spread more widely to private residences and nationwide.
SIM cards would be used by criminals to send fraudulent SMS on a large scale. The media mentions an invoice amounting to 62,000 euros for the subscription linked to one of these SIM cards. Each of these cards could sell for between 150 and 200 euros on the black market.
A new, more limited version
To remedy the phenomenon, the Public Housing Office has signed an agreement with the lift operator to restrict SIM cards to sending 50 SMS. What make the theft and resale much less interesting.
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