Tech: If you lock your SIM card, scammers won't be able to get the OTP. Understand the complete process..

In today's digital age, your SIM card has become the key to your banking, UPI, email, and social media accounts. Therefore, the theft of your phone number can be extremely dangerous. In fact, SIM swap or duplicate SIM fraud has become common these days. By gaining control of your SIM card, fraudsters obtain OTPs related to your banking and UPI accounts. After that, emptying your bank account becomes child's play. However, you can enable a setting to protect your number from being stolen. This is called a SIM lock, and let's learn how you can set it up.

Why is a SIM lock necessary?
You can think of a SIM lock as a layer of security. If you lock your SIM, no one can use it without the PIN. The advantage of this is that no one can port your number or get a duplicate SIM. It's important to note that SIM swap fraudsters try to gain access to your phone number. If the SIM is locked, this becomes impossible. Therefore, you can consider this feature a foolproof solution to prevent fraud through SIM swapping.

What does a SIM lock protect?
By locking your SIM, you can protect not only your phone number but your entire digital identity. Primarily, your number and OTPs are secured. This reduces the risk of banking or UPI fraud. In addition, messenger apps like WhatsApp and social media platforms that use OTPs for login are also protected.

How to set up a SIM lock?
Setting up a SIM lock on your phone is very easy. First, find out your phone operator's default SIM PIN. This is usually 0000 or 1234.

On your Android phone, go to Settings > Security & Privacy > SIM Lock.
Then turn on the SIM PIN lock. Enter the operator's default PIN.
Now set your new 4-digit PIN. Choose a PIN that you can remember, but that is difficult for others to guess.

What happens if you lock your SIM?
If you lock your SIM card on your phone, then if your phone restarts or if someone removes the SIM and puts it in another phone, you will need to enter the SIM PIN before you can get a signal. This means that even if someone steals your SIM, they won't be able to use it without the PIN. In this way, scammers won't be able to make calls, receive OTPs, or use your number anywhere.

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