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- FIGHT BACK! BY DAVID HOROWITZ
-
- Phone Cloners Busted
-
- Federal authorities in Northern California recently an- nounced the arrest of a man they
- called a kingpin of cellular phone fraud. Clinton L. Watson of San Jose and two associates are
- charged with making and selling so-called "clone phones" -- cell phones that are programmed to
- charge calls on other people's phone numbers.
- The basic techniques of cloning cell phones has been around for several years. The
- thieves use what's called an ESN scanner to monitor cell phone transmissions and trap the
- phone's identity code. That code is then imprinted on a computer chip, which is installed in
- another cell phone, making it an exact duplicate, or "clone," of the original. All calls placed
- from that counterfeit phone go on the original owner's monthly bill.
- According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Watson devel- oped a very sophisticated computer
- program that allowed him to install as many as a dozen different phone numbers in a single
- phone. These "lifetime phones" could then be switched from one number to another directly from
- the keypad. When one stolen number was deactivated, the user simply switched to another
- one, which greatly extended the useful life of the clone phone.
- Prosecutors say Watson sold nearly 1,000 phones for $1,000 to $2,000 apiece. He also
- allegedly sold his computer program to other cloners for as much as $100,000 a copy.
- That gives you some idea of how profitable selling clone phones can be. Industry experts
- believe cellular carriers are losing $1 million a day to this kind of fraud. In the Los Angeles area,
- which has more cells phones in use than any- where else in the country, 25 percent of the calls
- made through the cellular system are believed to come from counterfeit phones.
- Who uses clone phones? Drug dealers and other criminals who don't want their phone
- transactions tapped or traced, businesses and individuals who want to cut their calling costs,
- and people who operate clandestine "phone rooms," where callers are charged a flat rate to
- place long-distance calls anywhere in the world. It's a big money operation.
- The cellular phone companies are now developing their own electronic countermeasures.
- LA Cellular, a major carrier in Southern California, now offers a Fraud Prevention Feature, which
- requires dialing a seven-digit access number before a call can be placed from that phone. Only
- the user knows the number, and the company says it cannot be picked up by scanner in the
- phone's data stream transmission. Right now, FPF is an option, but it could become a standard
- feature in the future.
- LA Cellular is also experimenting with a system that automatically analyzes individual
- cellular transmissions and identifies an electronic "fingerprint" for each phone. If someone tries
- to use that number from another phone, it won't go through. Many carriers also track their
- customers' calls, looking for sudden changes in calling patterns.
- Right now, your best protection against being ripped off is to watch your monthly phone bill
- closely. If there are any unauthorized calls, report them immediately to your phone company,
- and the charges will be deleted. You can also ask your carrier to block overseas calls from your
- phone.
- If you have any questions or comments, please write to David Horowitz in the Consumer
- Forum+ (go FIGHTBACK).
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- COPYRIGHT 1994 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
-