`
`Federal Communications Commission
`445 12th Street, S.W.
`Washington, D. C. 20554
`
`News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
`Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
`TTY: 1-888-835-5322
`
`This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
`See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
`
`For immediate release:
`August 6, 2002
`
` News Media Contact:
` Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0511
` E-mail: rkimball@fcc.gov
`
`FCC CONTINUES NATIONAL FRAUD AWARENESS WEEK ACTIVITIES
`Day Two: Cell Phone Fraud
`
`Washington, DC – On Monday the FCC announced it is observing National
`Fraud Awareness Week (August 4th-10th) by highlighting five topics about which it gets
`many inquiries and complaints from consumers. One topic will be addressed each day
`this week. Not all are frauds or scams, but all are topics about which consumers should
`be informed.
`
` On Monday the Commission addressed “The Do-Not-Call-List Verification
`Scam.”
`
`Today’s topic is:
`
`CELL PHONE FRAUD
`
` Cellular fraud (cell fraud) is the unauthorized use, tampering, or manipulation of
`a cellular phone or service. At one time, cloning of cellular phones accounted for a large
`portion of cell fraud. As a result, the Wireless Telephone Protection Act of 1998
`expanded prior law to criminalize the use, possession, manufacture, or sale of cloning
`hardware or software for cell phones.
`
`Currently, the primary type of cell fraud is subscriber fraud. The cellular industry
`estimates that carriers lose more than $150 million per year due to subscriber fraud.
`
`What Is Subscriber Fraud?
`
`Subscriber fraud occurs when someone signs up for service with fraudulently-
`obtained customer information or false identification. Lawbreakers obtain your personal
`information and use it to set up a cell phone account in your name.
`
`Resolving subscriber fraud could develop into a long and difficult process for
`victims. It may take time to discover that subscriber fraud has occurred and an even
`
`
`
`longer time to prove that you did not incur the debts. Call your billing carrier if you think
`you have been a victim of subscriber fraud.
`
`What Is Cell Phone Cloning Fraud?
`
`Every cell phone has an electronic serial number (ESN) and mobile identification
`number (MIN) programmed by the carrier. A cloned cell phone is one that has been
`reprogrammed to transmit the ESN and MIN belonging to another (legitimate) cell
`phone. Unscrupulous people may be able to obtain valid ESN/MIN combinations by
`illegally monitoring the radio wave transmissions from the cell phones of legitimate
`subscribers. After cloning, both the legitimate and the fraudulent cell phones have the
`same ESN/MIN combination and cellular systems cannot distinguish the cloned cell
`phone from the legitimate one. The legitimate phone user then gets billed for the cloned
`phone’s calls. Call your carrier if you think you have been a victim of cloning fraud.
`
`Summary
`
`Remember, to prevent subscriber fraud, make sure that your personal
`information is kept private when purchasing anything in a store or on the Internet.
`Protecting your personal information is your responsibility. For cell phone cloning fraud,
`the cellular equipment manufacturing industry has deployed authentication systems that
`have proven to be a very effective countermeasure to cloning. Call your cellular phone
`carrier for more information.
`
`FILING A COMPLAINT
`
` You can file a complaint with the FCC by e-mail (fccinfo@fcc.gov), the Internet
`(www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html), telephone 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)
`voice, 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY, or mail (Federal Communications
`Commission, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries and
`Complaints Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554).
`
`For information on this and other topics of interest to consumers, visit our Web site
`at www.fcc.gov/cgb
`
`To receive information on this and other FCC consumer topics through the
`Commission’s electronic subscriber service, click on
`www.fcc.gov/cgb/emailservice.html.
`
`
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