3 ported my number over without ANY identity check

eth0_

I finally got round to going into the 3 store on Grafton Street during the week, to get my o2 number ported onto my 3 sim.

A girl working there told me to fill out a form on one of their computers.
One of the questions was, what date and time would suit you for the porting process to begin? I didn't have my 3 sim with me that day, so I chose the following afternoon for the port to happen. It then gave me a reference number and said someone would call me to verify my identity.

As a matter of interest, I asked a sales guy how they can prove I own the o2 number i'm porting over. He didn't seem to understand what I mean (he twice told me "Well it's not like you could make up an 083 number, they're random!").

I left the shop and then, about 20 minutes later, I tried to make a call. "Inactive SIM" is what it said on my phone with my o2 sim card in.

So, not only did 3 ignore my request to port the phone on the date specified, but they did so without ever asking me for any ID, or calling me to verify the request and my ID!

With identity theft on the increase in Ireland, you'd think 3 would know better..

-aboutagirl-

Exact same thing happened to me, I could have ported anyone's number. Incredible really.

neilled

eth0_ wrote: »

I finally got round to going into the 3 store on Grafton Street during the week, to get my o2 number ported onto my 3 sim.

A girl working there told me to fill out a form on one of their computers.
One of the questions was, what date and time would suit you for the porting process to begin? I didn't have my 3 sim with me that day, so I chose the following afternoon for the port to happen. It then gave me a reference number and said someone would call me to verify my identity.

As a matter of interest, I asked a sales guy how they can prove I own the o2 number i'm porting over. He didn't seem to understand what I mean (he twice told me "Well it's not like you could make up an 083 number, they're random!").

I left the shop and then, about 20 minutes later, I tried to make a call. "Inactive SIM" is what it said on my phone with my o2 sim card in.

So, not only did 3 ignore my request to port the phone on the date specified, but they did so without ever asking me for any ID, or calling me to verify the request and my ID!

With identity theft on the increase in Ireland, you'd think 3 would know better..

Normally, name, dob and address are asked for in a port. If these don't add up a port can be refused. Only case where that doesn't apply if the customer never registered their details, in which i tend to think "tough"

eth0_

neilled wrote: »

Normally, name, dob and address are asked for in a port. If these don't add up a port can be refused. Only case where that doesn't apply if the customer never registered their details, in which i tend to think "tough"

This is the form I filled out: https://store.3ireland.ie/Forms/Forms/PortingRequest.aspx

As you can see, they don't ask for your DOB. The address I gave them is my current address - my o2 number was registered at my parents address.

It's really astounding that
a> I could literally transfer anyone's phone number onto my phone and receive texts and phone calls meant for them
b> They ignored the date I asked them to port the number over. The phone I had with me that day had my o2 sim in it, which stopped working. What if there'd been an emergency?

krudler

networks take it that as long as you have the number in your possesion its yours really, after christmas people were ringing up to port to us and as long as they were either calling from the number they wanted to port or we could ring them on the number and they answered that was all the proof they required, its different for billpay customers as theres a lot more security checks but prepay numbers can easily be ported from one network to another, it used to be more strict but that caused so much hassle as people would have registered numbers to other people then wanted to port them and youd have to contact the registered customer and it just dragged out the whole process

eth0_

You don't understand.
3 never asked me was my o2 number pre-pay or post pay. They literally told me to fill out that form that I linked to. They didn't ask me to prove I had that o2 086 number in my possession by ringing a phone in the shop, for instance, to see the caller ID.

There was ZERO verification that I owned the number. It even says on the porting webpage that one of their agents will "phone" to do "verification". This never happened.

And that's only half the problem, they blatantly ignored my request to do the port the next day.

AARRRGH

3... doesn't surprise me! Incompetence at every level with that company.

Mr Burns

I have registered various pre pay numbers with fake names and addresses for privacy and no one when porting has asked for proof that I owned the numbers or the names used to register them.

It is not just 3 that will port with out verification. Vodafone and o2 will port without calling the ported number. Meteor and Tesco call you but the name you give don't need to match the details the network has.

So in theory you could steal a number very easily with the lack of verification by the networks.

eth0_

That is really shocking.

Sam Vimes

Mr Burns wrote: »

I have registered various pre pay numbers with fake names and addresses for privacy and no one when porting has asked for proof that I owned the numbers or the names used to register them.

It is not just 3 that will port with out verification. Vodafone and o2 will port without calling the ported number. Meteor and Tesco call you but the name you give don't need to match the details the network has.

So in theory you could steal a number very easily with the lack of verification by the networks.

the thing about verifying your name and address is that vodafone would be violating the data protection act if they gave the information to o2 or vice versa

Our man in Havana

You could steal a friends/enemy's number that way for malicious purposes.

I have found that the shops never ask for proof of ownership or ID when porting.

The question is if a number is stolen thru porting can it be recovered by the rightful owner?

Sam Vimes

Bond-007 wrote: »

You could steal a friends/enemy's number that way for malicious purposes.

I have found that the shops never ask for proof of ownership or ID when porting.

The question is if a number is stolen thru porting can it be recovered by the rightful owner?

it'd be a bit of hassle but yes. the previous network would still have the details on file and the owner could show id to get it back

eth0_

Sam Vimes wrote: »

the thing about verifying your name and address is that vodafone would be violating the data protection act if they gave the information to o2 or vice versa

Isn't it the case that in the UK you have to call your current network and get a code off them so you can switch the number to another network? Or am I totally confused. If so, they should really implement that here.

towel401

doesnt bother me one bit. I can't stand bureaucracy, verification checks, requests for details, mandatory DNA samples and all that shizzle.

i had none of this stuff when i changed to meteor yes some brat could steal someones phone number for a few minutes, cause a bit of trouble but he is likely to be picked up anyway. there isn't a whole lot even a skilled social engineer could do with someone else's phone number. there is enough of forms and red tape in this world without people coming to the forums asking for more of it

parsi

eth0_ wrote: »

With identity theft on the increase in Ireland, .

It's not identity theft.

Theft means that you no longer have the use of the item that has been stolen. It is "identity cloning" or "identity misuse".

Just because the media use buzz phrases doesn't mean that everyone else has to...

towel401

parsi wrote: »

It's not identity theft.

Theft means that you no longer have the use of the item that has been stolen. It is "identity cloning" or "identity misuse".

Just because the media use buzz phrases doesn't mean that everyone else has to...

it is theft. like as soon as someone takes your number this way your own sim will stop working. if you are evil enough you could just do it to annoy the crap out of someone for a day. though you will want to get a haircut after because all those shops are filled to the top with cameras

krudler

its a low risk possibility though so thats why theres not as much security around it, and with prepay numbers you need to put credit in them to use the number its not like billpay where you can just rack up a huge bill

i find its better this way, lets face it if you had to prove your address when porting a prepay number and when you originally registered it were living somewhere else and needed documentation to prove that then people would be complaining about that as well, theres enough red tape involved in simple things as it is, and if it did ever happen you its easily fixable, annoying maybe but its an unlikely thing to occur, unless you have a vindictive ex

parsi

towel401 wrote: »

it is theft.

It may be SIM theft or number theft but i's not identity theft.

I haven't questioned the assertion that 3 should implement rigourous procedures..

Sam Vimes

eth0_ wrote: »

Isn't it the case that in the UK you have to call your current network and get a code off them so you can switch the number to another network? Or am I totally confused. If so, they should really implement that here.

i have no idea how the english system works but that would be a good idea

120_Minutes

OP: sounds like the shop assistant ****ed up more than anything else. he/she should have called the porting number to verify it, and put the correct port time on the three system. thats what i usually do.

eth0_

The shop assistant actually had no part in it other than to bring me to their laptop where I went onto the normal, public three.ie site and filled in my details. It had nothing to do with the shop staff at all.

strecker

dublindude wrote: »

3... doesn't surprise me! Incompetence at every level with that company.

yeah yeah... Same ATTITUDE is what I see in O2 and vodafone, and, what's worse, in areas that should be even more security conscious! I can walk into a large credit union branch, be served by a new clerk I've never dealt with. Then I pay 20 euro towards a loan I took out ages ago, and as if that was proof it's my account I can then withdraw a thousand euro worth of shares - without any ID-check... It's a rotten "I don't give a hoot attitude", and it's not network-specific!!! It's stupid-cultural-madness-specific! ...
it's work-as-time-killing-to-payday/pub/holiday-specific... You think it's bad now? When they want your fingerprints in 10 years, there'll be spotty 14 yr-olds behind the counter who won't bat an eyelash when you pull that bloody indexfinger of your granny's from your sandwich-bag..

Our man in Havana

I think the main problem is that ID is not requested when buying the number in the first place. Maybe a compulsory registration of sim cards is needed at point of purchase? It would also be useful from a detection of crime aspect.

But then should people buying pre pay phones be entitled to conceal their identity from the networks?

Sam Vimes

Bond-007 wrote: »

I think the main problem is that ID is not requested when buying the number in the first place. Maybe a compulsory registration of sim cards is needed at point of purchase? It would also be useful from a detection of crime aspect.

But then should people buying pre pay phones be entitled to conceal their identity from the networks?

in germany you have to do that

towel401

ah gawd not compulsary registration. that will just give the RIAA an address to send their letters to if someone decides to download a torrent on their phone