Do you have any idea how phone cloning work? If not, then how will you protect your phone against phone cloning? Actually, no one knows this until they face the situation themselves. You cannot do much when the damage has been already done. Plus, it is really difficult to bring your phone back to normal when you clone it. That’s the reason; you should protect your device against phone cloning beforehand instead of regretting later on. In this article, we are about to tell you How to Prevent Cell Phone Cloning – What is it?. Let’s begin!
Phone cloning is a technique data from one device is transferred to another device. In this way, the other phone becomes the replica of the original device while working as a clone. It is also known as phone piracy, where fraudsters use your phone number to make international calls. Here, you have to pay for those expensive calls. In case, you are experiencing unexpectedly high bills. There is a chance that you are prey to phone cloning.
Because of digital networks, phone cloning is actually not common nowadays. There are also many phone clone apps online. It used to be a threat to mobile devices at one time. However, one can still see fraudulent activities going on. Today, one percent of mobile users face the issue of phone cloning. Read on to further know about phone cloning! This can be anything from a minor nuisance to a serious problem for the victim of cloning. The consequences range from having bogus charges appearing on one’s bill, all the way up to criminal charges filed if a cloned phone is then used to commit a crime.
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How phone cloning actually work?
In traditional phone cloning, fraudsters used to clone devices via monitoring signals between phones and cell towers. In this way, these people used to make expensive calls like international calls on the phone bill of others. Nowadays, phone cloning is not that common. All thanks to the digital network system. However, it can happen when calls fall back on the analog system in some specific areas.
Digital networks signify that multiple signals can use the similar channel that a single analog call once used. As a matter of fact, signals are binary now, that makes the scanning of cell signal really difficult. However, there is a drawback of this digital network system, which is analog backups.
In areas with high traffics, several carriers maintain analog cell stations to handle the overflow. If a single station becomes a kind of busy, it diverts calls on the analog network. People who own a scanner within that network range can yield the IMEI of your mobile device. This is what they require to clone your phone.
These scanners are illegal to use and difficult to access. However, most people get these scanners from the dark web for a small amount. On the other hand, people who like to clone phones do not much care about the legality. So, whenever cloners get their hands on your IMEI number, it becomes really easy for them to clone your mobile device. Using your number, they make calls everywhere all around the globe while you have to pay for the same.
Further
Analog systems make use of the CDMA technology, where data like MIN (Mobile Identification Number) and ESN (Electronic Serial Number) transmits beside your call data. Cloners can easily get hands-on MIN and ES. For phone cloning, they just need to flash any blank phone along with the phone data.
Now, digital systems make use of the GSM technology that uses the IMEI number of the phone. It is not really easy to get hands-on the IMEI number. In the first place, you need to capture the IMEI number and then, employ a SIM reader and writer to replica the SIM.
With the help of an empty SIM and SIM cloning tool, one can write the IMEI number on the empty SIM within a few seconds. SIM readers and writers are easily accessible in many online stores.
How do you know if your device is cloned? | Cell Phone Cloning
If you suspect your device is being cloned, you can check out the various signs as listed below. However, there is no direct way to know the real answer. All you can do is check some signs, that include the following:
- Calls from the SIM carrier asking whether you traveled abroad or not.
- Increase in the number of SMS and calls all of a sudden.
- Rise in calls from abandoned or wrong numbers than usual.
- Facing issues when accessing the voicemail or disappearance of voicemails altogether.
- Unusual or more call activity on your phone bill.
So, you can check out all these signs if you feel like someone else is making calls from your device. After that, you can do more checkups on phone cloning in many other ways.
Other ways to recognize phone symptoms | Cell Phone Cloning
In case, if your phone is being cloned by someone. You will start to receive error messages. These error messages include texts like your device cannot connect to the network. On the other hand, you will start to miss out on texts and calls. Because they all are being routed to the other device that is making use of your phone number.
In some cases, you even receive notifications from the SIM carrier that your phone number has been moved to a new phone. Some applications also send notifications that regard the same as you have signed in using a new phone.
Users who own Android devices can use Google’s Find My Device to check where the application thinks your device is. Those people who use iOS devices can perform the same task to see the location of their device. But, these applications do not work for this purpose but definitely gives you a clue on phone cloning. In this way, you can check whether your phone has been cloned or not by somebody else in a foreign country. Before testing out this sign, do not forget to enable or turn on the location of your device.
Further
The best way to detect phone cloning is to keep a close eye on the bill of your phone. Keep checking your bill every month and examine unusual phone calls. On finding unidentified calls, use reverse phone research to see who the next person is. On the other hand, you can even contact your phone carrier while suspecting unusual phone activity. By doing so, they can help you in identifying the tower from where the call has been made or originated.
Obviously, you need to face problems if your phone becomes prey to phone cloning. In most of the cases, people need to buy a new SIM card to stop the act of phone cloning altogether. That’s why; it is best to prevent phone cloning in the first place instead of facing problems later on.
Prevent Cell Phone Cloning
Because of phone cloning, you need to pay huge phone bills without making any call. If you do not want this to happen with you, you have to take some preventive measures against phone cloning. It is better to take precautions beforehand. So, you need to keep some things in mind to prevent any fraudulent activity on your mobile device.
Preventive measures against Cell Phone Cloning
So, in order to protect your device from cloning, you can make use of certain preventive measures. These points to remember to include the following:
- Always keep your mobile device with you all the time.
- Secure your phone using a biometric lock or PIN.
- Switch off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth when no longer in use.
- Do not use unauthorized applications on your phone.
- Do not jailbreak or root your mobile device.
- Clear out cookies, cache, and browsing history on a regular basis.
- Keep your device protected with the help of a security application.
Follow these points to protect your device against phone cloning. However, it is not prevalent much today as it used to be in the past. This is so because of modern technology. But still, phone cloning is there and happens to some people. As a matter of fact, you cannot do much to prevent phone cloning, but the preventive measures can lower down your chances of phone cloning significantly.
Fix Cell Phone Cloning
The first action you should take if you feel that your phone has been cloned is to get a new SIM card. Whether your carrier is on the CDMA network (Sprint and Verizon) or the GSM (AT&T and T-Mobile) network, updating the SIM card number within the carriers system means the hacker can no longer use your phone number.
It is not likely that someone can clone a cell phone that is attached to an eSIM. This type of SIM card is hardwire into newer smartphone models. Such as the Google Pixel models and the newest iPhones.
You can always buy a new cellphone, but changing the SIM card should suffice. It is important that you shred or dispose of your old SIM cards properly. The CDMA network SIM cards are reusable but only compatible with your phone’s IMEI number once activated.
GSM carriers allow you to swap your SIM card between any model of the phone. But once a new SIM is activated on your phone number, the previous one is disabled. This means that if you activate a new sim card, the old one will no longer work. that is the best option I guess.
Conclusion
Alright, That was all Folks! I hope you guys like this Cell Phone Cloning article and find it helpful to you. Also if you guys have further queries related to this article. Then let us know in the comments section below. We will get back to you shortly.
Have a Great Day!
