Hey guys,
At Incognito, with our background in creating spy software for government agencies, we have a comprehensive understanding of cell phone vulnerabilities. We were asked by one of our community about the risks of having their phone hacked using just their phone number. While we gave a much more comprehensive and much more personal answer to the person based on the information that they gave us, here’s our general perspective on the likelihood and methods of hacking a cell phone using just a phone number:
High-Level Hacking Techniques: While it’s technically challenging to hack a cell phone solely with a phone number, we’ve seen advanced methods, such as exploiting vulnerabilities in a person’s SIM card, in our work on government-grade spy tools. However, such sophisticated attacks are typically beyond the scope of ordinary hackers and are usually reserved for government agencies.
Phishing Attacks as a More Common Threat: A more common risk associated with having your phone number known is phishing attacks. Attackers can send SMS messages with malicious links. If the recipient clicks on these links, they could inadvertently install malware on their device.
General Public Risk Assessment: For the average person, the risk of their phone being directly hacked with just their phone number is relatively low. However, your phone number can be used as an attack vector in phishing schemes.
Precautionary Measures: Always be cautious about clicking on links in SMS messages, especially from unknown sources. Verify the authenticity of messages before interacting with them.
Protecting Your Device: To safeguard against various forms of spyware, including sophisticated government and commercial tools, consider using protection like our Incognito app. Our app is designed to detect and protect against a wide range of spyware threats.
Understanding the risk and staying vigilant about your digital security practices is key to protecting your cell phone from potential hacking attempts.
Best regards,
Max Roberts
Head of Privacy Care Team, Incognito