 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General General TopicsGSMBluetoothProviders AlltelATT WirelessCingularFidoNextelSprint PCST-MobileVerizonManufacturers EricssonNokiaMotorolaCountry Specific Australian GroupUK GroupRelated Topics PocketPCPalmMore Topics ... |
Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Alltel / August 2005Someone is making calls on my phone that I am not making, How?
I have a phone number on my bill every month that I know I am not calling. I looked the phone number up on Google and know where the person lives and his name, but I do not know him. How is someone using my phone to make calls to this person? Alltel fraud department gave me the brush off and said I was making the calls from my phone which is always turned off and I only use for emergencies, and didn't want to listen to me at all. Made me mad enough that I will probably go to Sprint. Anyone have any experiences with Sprint that are negative?  Signature"Self-image sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment." - Maxwell Matlz In answer to your question: 'How is someone using my phone to make calls...?', there are two probable answers. The first answer is the most obvious, and that is that someone has access to your phone, and takes it and uses it without your knowledge; however, you have stated that your phone is always off and only used for emergencies, so that may rule this out. The second answer is that someone has used your ESN (Electronic Serial Number) in another phone, so they won't have to pay for service - you do. If this particular number shows up regularly, then you have a few options, which will probably involve Alltel's cooperation. Explain to Alltel's customer service what is happening, and then have them switch phones for you, so that you are no longer using that ESN (Your phone # will not change - only the ESN assigned to it). If it is someone that has 'pirated' your ESN, they will no longer be able to use it. If someone is actually using YOUR phone 'on the sly', however, the calls will still appear. Alltel probably won't be able to tell you whether the call is coming from your phone, or someone else's. Their equipment just knows that a call was made using your ESN, and thus, you get billed for it, and they aren't much help if you want the charges removed. You can probably understand their position on that, if you think about it. I hope this helps...... >I have a phone number on my bill every month that I know I am not calling. >I looked the phone number up on Google and know where the person lives and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >mad enough that I will probably go to Sprint. Anyone have any experiences >with Sprint that are negative? > I > only use for emergencies You do know you don't have to buy any service, whatsoever, to dial 911 emergency, don't you? If this is what you want, simply cancel service and pay nothing from now on. Send an email to the FCC thanking them for their forcing this on the licensees...(c; Now, I have a different tactic. LEAVE THE PHONE ON ALL THE WHILE, plugged into the charger if you're not going to use it. When the other guy tries to logon to use your ESN, the equipment will refuse him and note the exact cell he was using, probably somewhere far off. This will automatically alert the fraud department when the equipment notes it. They will call you and ask you to use a PIN number to make all your calls out of your local area. THEN, you can ask them for a different phone with a different ESN and they'll be cooperative. Did you report this to 611 or just some sales jerk in your local office or some reseller (who could care less)? I'm amazed if 611 gave you the brush... Leave the phone on continuously, 24/7/365. It won't burn out the phone, ever. I don't even know why they put power switch on phones...All they need is a mute to the ringer. Leave your phone on vibrate if you don't like to hear it ringing. SignatureLarry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and your outlined in chalk. Hey Larry- The bit about leaving the phone on and it refusing service if someone else is using the ESN on another phone....... it may not be true. I 'cloned' two phones in addition to my original alltel phone, and tried out all kinds of scenarios. When the number is dialed, all 3 phones ring if they're all on. I can answer all three. I can't hear what's being said on the other 'clones', and the 'clones' can't hear anything said on the other 'clones', but all three phones can hear the originating caller and carry on a conversation (it's a strange kind of conference call, for sure!). If I'm in the middle of a call on one of the 3 phones, and pick up one of the clones and dial a number, the moment I press 'send', the initial call is dropped, and the call from the second phone begins. I've even sent one of the clones out of state with a family member so they'd have a phone if it was needed, and it and mine worked great the whole while. There have been instances when all three phones were on in different cells, and all are operational ( i.e.any one of the three can answer a call or make a call.) This situation works great for me, since I can share my phone and still have access to it, and I don't have to have two or more phone numbers and pay the fee to 'share minutes'. Since it's my plan, and my minutes that are being used (and I never come close to using up my plan minutes), I don't have a problem; BUT, IF you're in a situation where SOMEONE ELSE has a clone to your phone, and your provider doesn't have security measures in place to prevent clone phones from working, (I have alltel, and cloned phones work here) you're in a bad way, unless and until you can get your ESN changed. If 'Wal-Mart Smiley's' problem is someone with a clone phone, the only remedy is a new phone, or adequate security measures by the provider. IF there are adequate security measures in place, then your suggestion about leaving the phone on would be valid and useful, but who knows what alltel uses in Smiley's zone? I guess it wouln't hurt to do try your suggestion out, just in case....... doesn't work here, though...... >> I >> only use for emergencies [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > need is a mute to the ringer. Leave your phone on vibrate if you don't > like to hear it ringing. > I 'cloned' two phones in addition to my original alltel phone, and > tried out all kinds of scenarios. When the number is dialed, all 3 > phones ring if they're all on. I can answer all three. I can't hear > what's being said on Yeah, that'll work. What I'm trying to do, if he's been hacked, is to make sure the billing computer sees his phone at home at the same time as the hacker's phone in Peoria online. That will give him a paper trail....er, ah, memory trail..(c;...to show the gigacycle kops there are two phones using his ECN which ain't right. As it is, with his phone being off so much, they think he's a liar because the records only show him making calls in Peoria...see? SignatureLarry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and your outlined in chalk. Thank you both for some very useful information. That is exactly what happened to me. I cancelled my Alltel service and decided to go with a tracfone and you were right, I didn't call 611, I just talked to some customer service reps. I really liked Alltel service. Oh well, maybe they will get security measures in place some day. I wish I had read your postings before I saw the tracfone at wal-mart. >> I 'cloned' two phones in addition to my original alltel phone, and >> tried out all kinds of scenarios. When the number is dialed, all 3 [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > calls > in Peoria...see? Hey NorthSlope how did you clone your phone? Just curious since I got a couple unused phones still lying around just gathering dust. r3dn3ck >I 'cloned' two phones in addition to my original alltel phone, and tried out >all kinds of scenarios. When the number is dialed, all 3 phones ring if [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >prevent clone phones from working, (I have alltel, and cloned phones work >here) you're in a bad way, unless and until you can get your ESN changed. Hey R3dn3ck! I found an ESN change utility by asking on one of the cellphone web forums, and found a copy of QualComm PST and also Kyocera PST, also on a cellphone website. Both work (my phones are CDMA triband Kyocera 5135's). With those, a data cable, and the SPC, I was able to change the ESN of the other phones to match my original one. I then copied the memory from my phone so the PRL and all the settings would match the original, right down to the contact info. Voila, three phones-same #-same contract. I had to do a lot of Googling, etc., to find everything, but it all came together in about a week. I'm sure you could do it with other models as well. I had zero cellphone experience when I started this project, too... -NorthSlope > Hey NorthSlope > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >>prevent clone phones from working, (I have alltel, and cloned phones work >>here) you're in a bad way, unless and until you can get your ESN changed. NorthSlope Wrote: > Hey R3dn3ck! > I found an ESN change utility by asking on one of the cellphone we [quoted text clipped - 80 lines] > - > - Gotta jump in on this one. I am fairly new to the board but hav many years of experience in the cellular industry dating back to th bag phones. Yes it is physically possible to clone a phone but nearl impossible unless you own the original or know the person pretty wel because the individual would have to get your serial number (onl possible if they worked for the company or had easy access to you phone like the person that cloned his own phone) and they would have t know your phone number to program into their clone. If the serial numbe and phone number do not match up in the companies database it will no work. Not only that they would have to have a phone built for that cel phone company because we use different kinds of technology. Cloning calls because of digital technology make up a mere 2% o all cell phone calls industry wide. The fact is that if someone i going to risk going to Federal prison for cloning a phone they are no going to be calling one random person on your bill and they would no do it every month (that increases their chances of being caught te fold). A cloned phone will generally have $1000 of dollars of charge ran up in one month. Also we find overlapping phone calls on bills (i two calls made at 10:45 AM on the same day from two different locations). If someone clones a phone it is incredibly obvious. The solution is to lock your keypad on your phone. Friends, spouses, kids, and grandkids no matter how trustworthy you think yours are do take phones and use them without your knowledge. I can't count the number of customer's that complain to me that someone is using their phone to make calls but the phone is always with them. Usually it is customers that only make a few calls a month and nitpick at everything. All I have to do is give them a few simple steps to follow. Without them realizing what they are doing they pull up the list of calls dialed from their exact handset menu (something cloning cannot do) and viola there is the number in question on the list of dialed calls! HI! I'm the guy that cloned his phone. My first phone broke, and I bought a batch of used phones for parts. I used to work for a company as an RF engineer, and decided to find out what could be done with the 'extra' phones I had after repairing my broken one. I see a few places I'd have to take exception with some of your comments, so I'll type in and around your comments to make it easy for my comments to be connected to yours at the appropriate points: > Gotta jump in on this one. I am fairly new to the board but have > many years of experience in the cellular industry dating back to the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > possible if they worked for the company or had easy access to your > phone like the person that cloned his own phone) True, I had access to my own serial #, but a phone hacker might just keep changing ESNs until he finds one that works. Don't discount that fact! I'm conjecturing here, but if he finds one ESN that works, it's likely that there will be a 'block' of numbers that will work later, if he wants to switch to a new # to avoid detection. I'm assuming of course that the cell phone companies receive shipments from the manufacturers of phones in 'blocks' of serial #s. > and they would have to > know your phone number to program into their clone. If the serial number > and phone number do not match up in the companies database it will not > work. Not true! At least not with Alltel - It may be true for other companies, but not here with mine. When I initially cloned the first phone, all I did was change the ESN. I tried the phone, and voila!, it worked. I tried calling a couple numbers, and was successful. I then called the clone phone from my house phone. Yep, it rang! Guess what?? I hadn't yet changed the 'phone number' in the clones, NOR had I changed the anything else in the phone's memory..... JUST THE ESN.... >Not only that they would have to have a phone built for that cell > phone company because we use different kinds of technology. You're partially right here, but almost every 'general' statement has an exception. The phone companies must have the same technology in use, but the phone doesn't necessarily HAVE to be built explicitly for just one cell phone company. I'm an Alltel subscriber, and one of the phones I cloned was a 'Qwest' phone I purchased from a man in New Mexico. What seems to be important is the version of firmware that is installed in flash memory, NOT whether or not the phone was made specifically for 'Alltel' or 'QWest', or whoever. I had a couple of other phones with different firmware, and I wasn't able to use them, even though they were 'Alltel' phones. (Ultimately, they were the ones that got turned into spare parts! ) > Cloning calls because of digital technology make up a mere 2% of > all cell phone calls industry wide. The fact is that if someone is [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > fold). A cloned phone will generally have $1000 of dollars of charges > ran up in one month. Correct me if I'm not exactly correct here, but I'm fairly certain that the act of 'cloning' a phone is not a crime. What is a crime is to then USE that cloned phone to defraud. Like making 'free' calls (at someone else's expense). > Also we find overlapping phone calls on bills (ie > two calls made at 10:45 AM on the same day from two different > locations). A slight problem here..... That might be the case if the calls originated in different cells, but if you were reading my earlier post, you'll remember I said that if I was on a call with one phone, and initiated a call with one of the clones, the initial call was dropped, and the next call commenced. That scenario was when both of the phones were in the same cell. I must admit, I hadn't yet had the opportunity to see what happens if the calls originate in different cells. I'll have to try that. > If someone clones a phone it is incredibly obvious. > The solution is to lock your keypad on your phone. Friends, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > someone is using their phone to make calls but the phone is always with > them. Excellent advice!!! Is everyone understanding what he's saying here? Right on! Usually it is customers that only make a few calls a month and > nitpick at everything. All I have to do is give them a few simple steps > to follow. Without them realizing what they are doing they pull up the > list of calls dialed from their exact handset menu (something cloning > cannot do) and viola there is the number in question on the list of > dialed calls! |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.