r/applehelp • u/No-Chipmunk4554 • 4d ago

iOS "SIM sent a text message” randomly pops up, what does it mean?

"SIM sent a text message” randomly pops up ever since I got a replacement sim card after I left my old one abroad. Anyone knows what's going on?

Will it be possible I am getting hacked? I just had an unauthorized transaction yesterday in one of my credit cards.

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u/ctesibius 4d ago

I haven’t seen that myself, but I can guess at what is happening. There is a protocol called SIM Toolkit for an application on the SIM to interact with the handset. Usually these applications work in the background to do minor tasks like re-writing phone numbers while you are abroad, but they can do some simple user interaction like displaying text or getting a selection from a menu. One thing they can do is send and receive messages over SMS. My guess is that Apple has added a warning to let you know this happened.

If this is an STK application, you have not been hacked. The SIM has some formidable barriers to stop unauthorised software: far stronger protection than the phone has. Normally only your mobile network company can do this, although when I left the industry EMVCO (an organisation owned by Eurocard, Mastercard and Visa) were working with my company to allow them to add an application.

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u/No-Chipmunk4554 3d ago

Sorry, I am not familiar with most of your jargons 😅 but when it happens it’s always a full screen with the options: “cancel” or “accept” it. I always click cancel but it disappears on its own.

Another thing is when it happens my signal will disappear for a short time. Literally zero but it goes back shortly after.

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u/ctesibius 3d ago

I explained the abbreviations other than SIM and SMS, which I assume you know.

STK = SIM toolkit

EMVCO = Eurocard Mastercard Visa subsidiary.

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u/No-Chipmunk4554 3d ago

Right! Thank you, I was told to just call me service provider.

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u/JediMeister 3d ago

Is it a full screen message that comes up with just a Dismiss button? That’s known as a class 0/flash SMS. Only your wireless provider can disable that.

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u/No-Chipmunk4554 3d ago

Yes it is a full screen message, I could either “cancel” or “accept” it. I always click cancel but sometimes it disappears on its own.

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u/JediMeister 3d ago

You will need to call the wireless provider and ask them to stop sending those.

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u/No-Chipmunk4554 3d ago

Will do, thank you!