Creators Syndicate

FIGHT BACK!  BY DAVID HOROWITZ 

Phone Cloners are Listening 

        Any ordinary radio scanner, the kind people use to  listen to
police and fire calls, can pick up cellular phone  conversations. But
there's a different type of scanner on the  market now that is made to
monitor cellular phone data  streams instead of conversation. Encoded
in that data stream  is all the information the thief needs to make a
"clone  phone" -- one that automatically charges calls to the 
legitimate subscriber's phone bill. 
        These scanners can pick up transmissions from as far as  100
feet away -- from a freeway overpass or another car on  the highway.
They are sold by mail-order houses and  electronic-supply stores all
over the country. 
        Making a clone phone is not particularly difficult for  anyone
familiar with computer and telephone technology. All  the cloner does
is remove the E-Prom chip from another  cellular phone, erase the
original information on the chip  and then reprogram it with the stolen
code numbers. When the  cloned chip is put back in the phone, it acts
just like the  victim's phone, and all calls placed from that unit will
show  up on that person's monthly bill. 
        Cloned phones are usually good for about a month --  until the
legitimate subscriber reports the unauthorized  calls to the cellular
carrier and those codes are canceled in  the system. This kind of fraud
costs cellular carriers more  than $300 million a year. And, of course,
that cost is passed  along to their subscribers. 
        Illegally duplicated cellular phones are in great demand  among
drug dealers and other criminals who don't want their  calls traced
back to them. They're also used by long-distance  phone-room operators
who charge a flat rate for calls placed  anywhere in the world. 
        "It's very lucrative," says Clint Howard, who recently  retired
from his position as special agent in charge of the  Secret Service
office in Los Angeles. "It's a significant  crime from our
perspective," Howard said, "and one that we in  the Secret Service are
doing everything we can to control." 
        The Secret Service and local police have raided phone- cloning
operations all over the country and seized thousands  of illegal
cellular units. Federal penalties for this type of  fraud are stiff --
10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000  for each offense. But
catching these people is difficult and  time consuming. 
        The cellular phone industry is using more sophisticated 
technology to trap phone cloners. Computers automatically  track
subscribers' charges, looking for sudden increases and  changes in
calling patterns. As more networks are tied  together, computers can
also spot calls being placed  simultaneously from different locations. 
        Newer digital cellular phone transmissions can be  encrypted
to foil the scanners. But with more than 17 million  cellular phones
already in use, converting from analog to  digital equipment will take
years. Carriers are understand- ably reluctant to force subscribers to
exchange their analog  phones for digital ones at their own expense.
They would  probably switch carriers, instead. 
        Technology and law enforcement won't solve the problem 
entirely -- at least not right away. If you have a cellular  phone,
keep a close eye on your monthly bills. That may the  first clue you
have that you've been cloned. 
        If you have any questions or comments, please write to David
Horowitz in the Consumer Forum+ (go FIGHTBACK). 

COPYRIGHT 1994 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.