Cloned ... and Go Figure! (non-technical)

[Howard S. Rosen]

Ask your cell provider for  locking and unlocking numbers  to protect you
from cloning. If you have a digital phone you can program these numbers
into your phone using 1 digit. This is a slight inconvenience but great
protection to avoid reoccurrance of this problem.
Example of usage after programming the unlocking number to button #1 and
locking number to button #2:

When making a call you press "1", wait a few seconds for your phone to
unlock, then make your call. When finished press "2" to lock your phone.
You can receive calls when in the locked mode but you must unlock it to
make your calls. When your phone is locked, no one can clone your phone.

Howard S. Rosen, RPT
Boynton Beach, Florida


----------
> From: Joel Nelson <gusnel@concentric.net>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: Cloned ... and Go Figure! (non-technical)
> Date: Sunday, January 18, 1998 12:07 PM
> 
> Zen Reinhardt wrote:
> > 
> > Hello List!
> > 
> > I guess anything can happen at least once to anyone.  Last night I came
to
> > the realization that my cell phone may have been cloned when the phone
rang
> > at some odd hour.  
> 
> 
> Zen- 
> Sadly, you are not alone. The cellular fraud business is a HUGE loss for
> the cellular operators. They are applying many high tech methods to 
> reduce this problem, but it is far from perfect. The advent of digital
> phones will greatly help, but a knowledgable bad guy (at great expense)
> still provide illegal service. 
> 
> As for the cellular operator watching the account activity in the same
> manner as credit card companies. That depends upon the particular 
> operator. You were fortunate that you were able to report this fraud
> quickly. I would expect that you will get relief from these calls. They
> can set thresholds on call usage and flag them as suspicious. A few 
> years ago, I made a trip to California and used my phone as a roamer in
> that area. I made many calls out there and was queried by the operator
> about this. Fortunately, all my calls were legit. 
> 
> One method I use to avoid cloning and the associated problems is to 
> leave my cell phone off unless I am originating a call. This gives
> the cloner less opportunity to grab my account data. My pager remains
> on constantly. If someone wants me, they page me and I will respond. 
> This has the additional advantage of being able to screen the calls, and
> I don't have to keep track of the cell phone battery and replace and
> recharge them. A single AA battery keeps the pager going for weeks. 
> 
> Hope this helps a little.
> 
> Joel
> Lake Zurich, IL