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Lock your phone number to your phone
Why it matters: If a criminal moves your number to their SIM, they receive your texts and calls, including reset codes. A carrier lock makes that move much harder.
Do it
- Sign in to your carrier's app and set an account PIN or passcode that isn't your birthday or the last digits of your number.
- Turn on the carrier's number lock, port-out protection or SIM protection feature.
- Protect the carrier account itself with MFA.
- Move any account still using text codes to a passkey or authenticator app.
- If your phone suddenly loses service for no reason, call the carrier from another phone right away.
Check it worked: Your mobile account has a PIN or passcode, number lock or port-out protection is on, and your key accounts no longer depend on text-message codes.
Simply put
Your phone number is like a forwarding address for your reset codes. A carrier lock is like telling the post office not to redirect your mail without your PIN, so moving it becomes much harder.
In detail
Losing signal unexpectedly is the classic early sign of a SIM swap. Once your important accounts no longer accept text codes, a stolen number becomes an inconvenience instead of a key.
Points toward the Long View: a phone number that's an inconvenience to lose, not a key to everything.