Mercoled“, 24 novembre 1993 19:19:52
          Nuovi arrivi Item
   From:          Roberto R.P. Pezzile
   Subject:        Cellular Phone Thieves May Have Your Number
   To:            News Break
   Cc:            Nuovi arrivi
 Cellular Phone Thieves May Have Your Number
 
 DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 22 (NB) -- Authorities say
 the cellular phone industry spends $5 million annually to stop
 sophisticated cellular phone fraud, and your phone might be the
 culprint's next target.
 
 US West Cellular spokesperson Wendy Carver-Herbert says the
 criminals are starting to look at smaller cities. "As the carriers
 crack down in major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and New York,
 the criminals begin looking at other markets where enforcement isn't
 as tough yet."
 
 Cell phone providers are reluctant to provide information about how
 many cell phones are reported stolen, and local and federal law
 enforcement agencies don't track that data, but admit that cell phone
 fraud is rampant nationwide. Authorities say it's difficult to catch the
 thieves because of the sophisticated electronic techniques used by
 the crooks that could mean you won't even know you are a victim
 until it's too late.
 
 Denver-based Secret Service agent Bill Bresnahan told Newsbytes
 the Secret Service is tasked with investigating cellular phone fraud,
 and says his agency has investigated several incidents of cell phone
 fraud in the Rocky Mountain local area. Bresnahan and Carver-
 Herbert say the crimes take various forms. The simplest form of theft
 is the actual stealing of a phone. More insidious, and less likely to
 be noticed immediately, involves gaining access to a cell phone and
 obtaining the unique Electronic Serial Number assigned to every
 phone, then leaving the phone in place. The ESN is then
 programmed into another phone, a technique known as "cloning."
 Herbert she says that is currently the biggest fraud problem
 industry-wide.
 
 Agent Bresnahan describes an even more sophisticated technique in
 which the criminals use sophisticated electronic monitoring
 equipment to capture the ESN and phone number right out of the
 airways from phones operating nearby. The numbers are then
 programmed into stolen cell phones to make expensive long
 distance calls. Bresnahan says investigative techniques include
 monitoring cell activity for an unusually high number of long
 distance calls, and the use of direction finding equipment to track
 down the illicit phones while they are in operation.
 
 Herbert and Bresnahan say there are some steps that cell phone
 users can employ to help foil phone theft or catch thieves. They
 encourage cell phone users to step up the physical security they
 provide their phones. "If you are going to leave your car with a
 parking attendant or parked on the street for several days, remove
 the handset and the antenna to avoid drawing attention," says
 Carver-Herbert. She also recommends activating the electronic lock
 when you are away from the phone.
 
 They also recommend monitoring your cell phone bill closely. If you
 see calls you are sure you didn't place, contact your service provider
 immediately, and if your phone is stolen the company can block calls
 from that number. US West Cellular has programmed its computers
 to watch for anomalies in each customer's calling pattern as another
 way to foil this high tech crime, and the company employs security
 personnel to contact customers when calls fall outside the normal
 pattern.
 
 Another problem cell service providers encounter is what they call
 "subscription fraud," in which false billing information is provided,
 then the phone is used until the billing system catches up with them.
 That can take as long as 30 days. Crooks also use a technique called
 "tumbling," or using a phone programmed with a false ESN and your
 phone number to place a long distance call in another carrier's
 service area. By the time the two computers compare information the
 calls have already been completed. The carriers are beginning to
 install computer programs that can instantaneously check with the
 home service area to determine if the number is legitimate and will
 immediately terminate the call if the ESN is bogus, but that
 technology is not yet in wide use. In the meantime some carriers
 require you to get advance permission to use your cellular phone in
 their service area when you're on the road.
 
 (Jim Mallory/19931122)