Cell Phone cloning is a process where an identity of a mobile telephone is copied to another mobile telephone. This is usually done for making fraudulent telephone calls. The bill for the call goes to the original subscriber. This type of cloning operation is done in areas that have a huge population of immigrants. The call price for long distance calls is usually very high. Thus, some people use these cell phone clones in order to make calls to home. Such technique attracts a large group of people.
This technique was initially done in the Motorola “bag” phones. It reached its peak level in the mid 90’s. The clone looked similar to the initial brick versions like the ultra 8000 series, etc. This technique involves replacement or modification of the EPROM with a new chip that allows one to configure the electronic serial number using software. One can also change the mobile identification number (MIN). When the ESN/MIN pair is changes, the cloning process is completed and one would be able to speak through someone’s number. But this process requires access to the ESN and MIN pairs which are discovered in the following ways:
1. Cellular network sniffing.
2. To trash the cellular companies or cellular resellers.
3. To hack the cellular companies or cellular researchers.
This technique can also be used in MAPS/NAMPS system. This technique is losing its popularity as the newer models have not been successfully reverse-engineered.
GSM network also supports cloning. Though the process is not that easy, this has currently remained an important topic of research for hobbyists and researchers.
