T-Mobile SIM Card Swap Led to Draining of Bank Account, Says Plaintiff

A T-Mobile employee unlawfully transferred a customer’s cellphone number to another device in April 2022, resulting in unauthorized access to his bank account, alleged pro se plaintiff Samuel Whatley of Charleston, South Carolina, in a complaint Wednesday (docket 2:23-cv-1339) against the carrier in U.S. District Court for South Carolina in Charleston. Whatley said the unlawful transfer, at a T-Mobile store in Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina, led to the compromise of his entire bank account, with funds transferred via Zelle. Authorities, contacted the following day, were “unsuccessful in apprehending the suspect” after police were given the international mobile equipment identity of the swapped SIM card and evidence of the unlawful transfers, said the complaint. Whatley alleges the T-Mobile employee violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act and 18 USC 2511. He seeks compensation for the unlawful transfer of electronic communications leading to the unauthorized access of his bank account.