Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxNews.com.
If you bank online, you probably know the routine. You enter your password and then wait for a six-digit code to arrive by text. That extra step is supposed to help prove you are really you. Unfortunately, scammers have learned how to turn those codes against us.
A fake bank representative may call and persuade you to read the code aloud. A phishing site can trick you into typing it in. A SIM-swap attack can give a criminal control of your phone number, potentially putting those texted security codes within reach.
The Federal Trade Commission says people reported losing $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, compared with $12.5 billion in 2024. Imposter scams were the most frequently reported fraud category in 2025, accounting for more than $3.5 billion in reported losses.
Now, a new type of phone-based verification could eventually make those texted codes much less common. Glide.id has launched the public beta of MagicalAuth, a cryptographic authentication system available across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon on iOS and Android. Banks and other services still have to integrate the technology before you would encounter it during a login.
Here's how the system works and what it could mean for the way you log in to your bank down the road.
New! Free live CyberGuy class: Protect Your Money From Today’s Biggest Threats
Join us Saturday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. ET for a free CyberGuy LIVE class covering five simple steps to help defend yourself against AI scams, fraud, identity theft and financial hacks. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson will explain how to set up bank alerts, strengthen your account logins, protect your phone number, freeze your credit and help secure your retirement savings against unauthorized transfers. No technical experience is needed. You’ll also receive our financial protection checklist, and every registrant will get a link to the class recording afterward.
Reserve your free spot today at CyberGuyLive.com.
YOUR FAMILY COULD BE ONE PHONE CALL FROM A BANK SCAM
A six-digit security code sent by text can become a target for phishing, fake bank calls and account takeover scams. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
Your bank sends a texted one-time password, often called an SMS OTP, to your phone and expects you to enter it to prove you have access to that number. The problem is that the code passes through your hands. "A texted code is a shared secret," Eran Haggiag, founder and CEO of Glide.id, told CyberGuy. "It gets created, sent across the network, and then a person has to read it and type it in, and every one of those steps is a place it can be intercepted or tricked out of someone."
MagicalAuth takes a different approach. Rather than sending you a code, Glide says the system relies on cryptographic credentials associated with the SIM or eSIM in your phone. Eran said, "It relies on a secret that's built into the SIM in your phone and never leaves it, similar to the chip in a credit card."
During authentication, the bank or service can use the carrier network to confirm that the expected SIM is present instead of asking you to relay a secret. "That's what lets the carrier confirm it's really your SIM," Eran said.
Glide says each SIM contains a carrier-issued cryptographic key. MagicalAuth uses that key to answer a mathematical challenge during authentication. "There is no app to download, no setting to change, and nothing for the consumer to enroll in or configure," Eran told CyberGuy.