Beware: Your GSM mobiles too can be cloned http://infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/986766.cms [ TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005 10:52:49 AM] NEW DELHI: Slowly but surely, technology is showing up its ugly face too. Today it's increasingly being used by new-age criminals in a variety of ways. The latest is mobile phone cloning Millions of mobile phones users, be it GSM or CDMA, run the risk of having their phones cloned. And the worst part is that there isn't much that you can do to prevent this. A resident of Moradabad, Mohammed Yasin was arrested from South Delhi on Friday for cloning mobile phones and using them to facilitate ISD calls. A senior police officer says that this is just the tip of the iceberg. "Yasin used a software called Patagonia which can be used to clone only CDMA phones but there are software packages available in the market which can be used to clone even GSM phones. The man who is trying to clone your GSM phone just needs to know your International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) or instrument number. We are trying to identify phone dealers in Gaffar Market and Nehru Place who can make it possible," says the police officer, adding that Yasin had bought the software from Nehru Place. The 15-digit IMEI number is programmed into the handset when it is manufactured. The officer cites the example of a businessman who recently cloned the GSM phone of his rival and sent an SMS to the police that a Delhi VVIP would die in a blast. According to joint commissioner of police (special cell) Karnal Singh, not just the SIM but also the IMEI number can be cloned making it difficult to detect the crime. "The only precaution he can take is to scrutinise the phone bills and find out whether or not it mentions any call which was not made by him. We are talking to service pro-viders to look for a way out," he says. A SIM can be cloned again and again and they can be used at different places. Police say they can track messages and calls sent by cloned phones. However, if the accused manages to also clone the IMEI number of the handset, for which softwares are available, there is no way he can be traced. Adding to the police woes is the fact that the sale of Patagonia or other softwares used for cloning is legal in the country. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/O.5XsA/8WnJAA/E2hLAA/WfTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Group Site: http://www.gaybombay.info ========================== NEW CLASSIFIEDS SECTION SEEKING FRIENDS? VISIT www.gaybombay.info click on classified section and type your message in the post section once the link opens This message was posted to the gay_bombay Yahoo! Group. Responses to messages (by clicking "Reply") will also be posted on the eGroup and sent to all members. If you'd like to respond privately to the author of any message then please compose and send a new email message to the author's email address. For Parties and events go to: http://calendar.yahoo.com/YYY,04497/srt,0/gaybombaygroup/?v=42&POS= Post:- gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Subscribe:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Digest Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] No Mail Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Individual Mail Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact Us:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives are at http://www.mail-archive.com/gay_bombay%40yahoogroups.com/maillist.html Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gay_bombay/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
