After an 86-year-old’s landline went silent, thieves stole $25K. The hijacked phone number scam is fueling a $4.5B crisis, but 1 move can stop it cold

Criminals buy leaked personal data, such as birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses, on dark web marketplaces powered by massive breaches. One of the biggest was the National Public Data hack, which exposed 2.9 billion records (4).

Using that stolen information together with hijacked phone numbers, fraudsters can impersonate deceased account holders and get through verification checks.

"We continually combat fraud to protect our customers," Wells Fargo told Seven On Your Side. "As part of this effort, it is very important for customers to keep their account information current and notify us of life changes, including the passing of an account holder."

Family protection checklist

If you're helping aging parents manage their finances, take these steps as soon as possible:

• Remove deceased account holders from all accounts. Contact every financial institution, utility company, phone carrier and credit card issuer after a death. This single update eliminates a major fraud risk.
• Add carrier port-out locks. Ask phone carriers to apply port-out protection. Under FCC rules introduced in 2024, carriers must offer account locks that prevent number transfers without additional verification (5).
• Move away from SMS authentication. Text codes can be intercepted if a number is hijacked. Use authenticator apps or, even better, physical security keys.
• Request bank call-back verification for wire transfers. Ask your bank to call a pre-registered alternate number before approving any wire transfer or large transaction.
• Consolidate and monitor accounts. Reduce the number of accounts to simplify oversight. Turn on email alerts for all transactions so suspicious activity is caught quickly.
• Lock credit files. Freeze credit reports with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to prevent new accounts from being opened in your parents’ names.
• Set up trusted contacts. Many financial institutions let you add trusted contacts who can be notified if unusual activity occurs or if the bank can’t reach the account holder.

Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

ABC 7 (1); FBI (2); FCC (3); CBS News (4); Federal Register (5).