You may not know this, but most elevators come with a SIM card, which allows them to make an emergency call if necessary. However, in recent months, these have been massively stolen by thieves, who use them to spread scams with their own smartphones. Fortunately, a solution seems to have been found.
We knew about SIM swap, this hacking technique which consists of taking control of a SIM card on a smartphone to spread scams. Less well known, however, was the theft of SIM cards in elevators. However, the phenomenon has rapidly grown in recent months, as reported by BFM, to such an extent that donors no longer hesitate to talk about “scourge”.
You should in fact know that most of our elevators are equipped with the same SIM cards as our smartphones. These are only used when it is necessary to make an emergency call in the event of a problem. However, if the elevator detects that this SIM card is missing, it completely refuses to work, forcing users to take the stairs.
On the same subject — SFR: pay attention to this SMS which tells you that an eSIM has been ordered on your line, it’s a scam!
The theft of SIM cards from elevators, this new scourge
Aubervilliers, in Seine–Saint-Denis, is particularly affected by the phenomenon. According to the Public Housing Office (OPH), 80 elevators out of 150 were deprived of their SIM card. Many retirees and people with reduced mobility find themselves stuck at home, unable to go down the stairs. “The bills are exorbitant: for a single phone, we had to pay 66,000 euros in one month,” laments the boss of the OPH, who estimates the total cost of the damage at €500,000.
Thieves use these SIM cards to carry out numerous scams, in particular by pretending to be banks or Social Security and thus stealing large sums of money from their victims. Not to mention the costs incurred by breakage within the elevator itself, most of which are not equipped with cameras which would nevertheless prove very useful.
However, a solution is being deployed and already seems to be bearing fruit. Rather than SIM cards, the OPH is starting to use NTM cards, the particularity of which is that it only works on a single device. Once in a smartphone, it automatically blocks and becomes completely useless. The OPH is pleased to see the number of vandalisms drop since the implementation of this technique.
Source: BFM TV