Feds Bust Huge Cell Phone "Cloning" Ring NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 OCT 20 (NB) -- New York officials have cracked what they call "the biggest illegal cellular telephone cloning operation in the country" with the arrest of three individuals this week. If convicted the suspects could receive up to 15 years in state prison. "Cloning" is the process of retrieving the electronic serial numbers (ESNs) of legitimate phones off the airwaves and programming the purloined numbers into stolen phones. Thieves capture the numbers using special scanners placed near busy highways and airports. ESNs can also be obtained from stolen phones. Denver-based Secret Service agent Bill Bresnahan told Newsbytes the Secret Service is tasked with investigating cellular phone fraud, Bresnahan says investigative techniques include monitoring cell activity for an unusually high number of long distance calls, and the use of direction finding equipment to track down the illicit phones while they are in operation. US West spokesperson Wendy Carver-Herbert and Bresnahan say there are some steps that cell phone users can employ to help foil phone theft or catch thieves. They encourage cell phone users to step up the physical security they provide their phones. "If you are going to leave your car with a parking attendant or parked on the street for several days, remove the handset and the antenna to avoid drawing attention," says Carver-Herbert. She also recommends activating the electronic lock when you are away from the phone. They also recommend monitoring your cell phone bill closely. If you see calls you are sure you didn't place, contact your service provider immediately, and if your phone is stolen the company can block calls from that number. US West Cellular has programmed its computers to watch for anomalies in each customer's calling pattern as another way to foil this high tech crime, and the company employs security personnel to contact customers when calls fall outside the normal pattern. The New York raid seized cloning software, 46 cell phones and various equipment including computers officials said contained legitimate cell phone access numbers which when programmed into cloned phones allows the purchaser to illegally use cellular service without paying. They often make expensive long distance calls to other parts of the world. Officials said as many as 27,000 phones have been cloned over the last seven months and at least 3,000 usable legitimate access numbers were stored in the computers seized in the raid. Authorities estimate losses from the latest scam may have cost phone companies as much as $27 million. Cell phone service providers lose an estimated $1.5 million a day nationwide because of phone cloning. Authorities said it costs a thief about $50 to get a stolen cell phone activated with a cloned number. The phone can then be sold on the street for about $100. The Manhattan District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau, was particularly interested in this case. He said his own phone has been cloned twice by thieves recently. The first time the bill exceeded $3,000 and the second time more than $5,000 in calls were charged to his number. The legitimate holder of the cell phone number that is cloned isn't aware the phone has been cloned until the bill arrives. In an attempt to stop losses cell service provider Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile (NYSE: NYN) recently introduced the use of personal identification numbers, which the company said has cut phone fraud by an estimated 80 percent. The user punches in the unique PIN and presses the send button on the phone after dialing the desired number. Authorities say the cellular phone industry spends $5 million annually to stop sophisticated cellular phone fraud. (Jim Mallory/19951020/Press contact: Kim Ancin, 914-365-7573, or Jim Gerace, 914-365-7712, both of NYNEX) --****ATTENTION****--****ATTENTION****--****ATTENTION****--***ATTENTION*** Your e-mail reply to this message WILL be *automatically* ANONYMIZED. Please, report inappropriate use to abuse@anon.penet.fi For information (incl. non-anon reply) write to help@anon.penet.fi If you have any problems, address them to admin@anon.penet.fi