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How to Tell if Your Phone Has Been Cloned

by Natasha Stokes on March 30, 2020

Our phones are the key to our digital identity, so it’s no wonder that mobiles have become increasingly attractive targets for cybercriminals, who have at their disposal a fair number of ways to hack a smartphone, some of which require more access and technical savvy than others.

Phone cloning – or the copying of the identification credentials a phone uses to connect to cellular networks – is one method that usually requires the perpetrator to have direct access to a device. That makes it less prevalent than, say, hacking an operating system vulnerability that hasn’t been updated, but the consequences are equal to that of most phone hacks – your personal data is exposed, with potential financial consequences or identity fraud.

What is phone cloning?

It’s worth distinguishing between “cloning” a phone’s data – which spy apps semi-legally offer as a way to spy on the photos, texts and calls of another device – and totally illegal phone cloning, which refers to the copying of a phone’s complete cellular identity and using it in another device.

In cloning a phone’s cellular identity, a criminal would steal the IMEI number (the unique identifier for every mobile device) from the SIM cards, or the ESN or MEID serial numbers. These identifying numbers are then used to reprogram phones or SIM cards with the stolen phone number.

Then there’s also the emerging threat of SIM hijacking, where hackers who have access to stolen phone numbers call up carriers and impersonate account holders to get a new SIM the hacker controls. This method, which relies on social engineering tactics to find out personal information that carriers use to authenticate customer accounts, differs from the highly technical method for SIM (or phone) cloning, but the end result is the same – to gain control over someone’s phone service.

Once the perpetrator has control of the phone line, they can send messages and make calls that appear to be from that phone number, with the bill footed by the victim. If a cloned phone and the original are near the same broadcast tower, it could even allow the perp to listen in on any calls made by the victim – though that’s probably not the main driver for phone cloning.

The bigger danger is that text messages and calls intended for the rightful owner of the line can also be intercepted – including two-factor authentication codes that allow snoops to get access to critical accounts like email, social media and even banking. (The vulnerability of text messages is one reason why experts recommend other methods of two-factor authentication.)

Phone cloners might also target political figures for surveillance: in February this year, South African state security ministers were reported to have had their cellphones cloned, the crime was detected when several people reported receiving text messages from a minister who hadn’t sent them.

Or, cloned phones might be used to generate revenue, sold to people who aren’t aware they’ve purchased a fraudulent handset with stolen credentials.

How phones get cloned

Most phones have SIM cards whose IMEI numbers are protected by secret codes that prevent over-the-air interception. But if someone is able to remove the SIM card and place it in a SIM reader for a few minutes, they can copy all its identifying credentials to load onto a blank SIM. (This technically includes anyone who might get time alone with your device – but as with phone spying, you’re likely to have an inkling if there’s anyone who might want to do such a thing.)

Researchers have also found a vulnerability in the existing protocol that is used for over-the-air carrier updates. Though rarely used, this flaw could in theory allow hackers to remotely clone a SIM.

Some older phones are more vulnerable to remote attacks. Those running on 2G or 3G CDMA frequencies, which are used only by the Sprint and US Cellular networks (Verizon retired its CDMA network at the end of 2019), broadcast to the operator in a way that would allow special equipment – like a femtocell – to eavesdrop on the connection and intercept handset ESN or MEID serials.

That means older CDMA phones, such as flip phones or 3G-only regular and smartphones, that are locked to either Sprint or US Cellular may be at a slightly elevated risk of remote phone cloning. All that said, however, phone cloning is not as common as it was in the early days of mobile phone use, when the radio frequencies in use were much easier to eavesdrop on.

6 Signs that your phone might have been cloned

If you think your phone might have been cloned, check for these signs which can indicate someone else is using your cellular service, such as:

1. Receiving an unexpected text requesting you to restart your device

This may be the first sign that your phone or SIM has been compromised – restarting your device gives the attacker a window in which your device is off and they can load their phone with your cloned credentials.

2. Calls or texts on your cellphone bill that you don’t recognize

Any outgoing texts and calls made on the cloned device will seem to be coming from your phone number – and land on your bill. Even if you don’t have an itemized bill, international calls will show up here, so keep an eye on your monthly payments and double-check when you pay more than usual.

3. You stop receiving calls and texts

If someone else has control of your phone number, calls and SMSes may be diverted to their cloned device, or your cellular connection stopped entirely. Check this by having a friend or your partner call you to see if the call rings and if it comes through to your phone.

4. You see your device in a different location on Find My Phone

Logging into Find My iPhone or Google’s Find My Device can be a way to check on the integrity of your SIM. If your phone’s on your desk, but on the map appears to be somewhere else, someone else may be using your cell service. (Chances are, phone hackers would disable this setting, however.)

5. You get a message from your carrier saying your SIM has been updated

If your credentials have been activated on a new device, your network provider will probably send a message confirming your details have been updated – a major red flag if you haven’t done anything. This can also be the point at which you find your device no longer has cellular service.

6. You’re mysteriously locked out of your accounts

You might even find someone has commandeered your email accounts and social media handles – as in a spat of Instagram hacks based on stolen phone numbers (in these cases, however, the SIMs were hijacked by attackers who had gleaned enough personal information online to fool carriers into switching over the SIM cards). Either way, someone having control over your phone service means they can do things like trigger a forgotten password, receive a two-factor authentication code to the phone number they now have access to, then change the password and access any account they know your login name for.

If the worst has happened and your phone has been cloned, you need to call your cellular provider. They should be able to detect and block the cloned device, because each handset has a unique radio fingerprint independent of that serial number that originally belonged to you.

Can you prevent phone cloning?

You can help protect your phone from this type of cloning by observing the same cybersecurity practices that keeps your online life safe:

  • Check that carrier texts are coming from legitimate numbers – for example, do they show up in the same message thread as previous carrier texts?
  • Train a skeptical eye on any text that requests you do something – are they worded in the way you would expect? What do Google search results have to say about the sender’s number?
  • Finally, treat your phone’s IMEI, ESN or MEID number like any other password - never send it to anyone or give it to any website you don’t trust.

Cloning isn’t the only way your phone can be compromised. If you have concerns about the security of your device, read our story on how to tell if your phone has been hacked.

[Image credit: phone hacking concept via BigStockPhoto]


Topics

Tips & How-Tos, Phones and Mobile, Privacy

Natasha Stokes has been a technology writer for more than 7 years covering consumer tech issues, digital privacy and cybersecurity. As the features editor at TOP10VPN, she covered online censorship and surveillance that impact the lives of people around the world. Her work has also appeared on BBC Worldwide, CNN, Time and Travel+Leisure.


Discussion loading

Cloned

From Kammi Kothmann on April 08, 2020 :: 3:58 am

Im pretty sure my phone is cloned. i receive messages sometimes the day after they were sent. Voicemails i get later than they were made. i think i know who is doing it and im fixing to get a protective order put on them.

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Probably not cloning

From Josh Kirschner on April 08, 2020 :: 12:23 pm

Delayed text messages and voicemails are not uncommon, and are usually due to issues on the carrier end. It’s much more likely that that is what’s happening to you versus phone cloning, which is very rare, only can be done with old devices, and wouldn’t necessarily result in delayed messages.

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Clone

From Marva Jane Theus on November 13, 2020 :: 5:41 am

My phone screen flashes when I go to certain pictures and certain text conversation…. My account is locked up and disable cause of the wrong passwords… It freezes and quite often pics and files are suddenly no longer in my phone

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Same problems ! The ex and the new

From Angelica on November 23, 2020 :: 7:05 am

I’m sorry , I feel you . I am experiencing the same things . I have test and am milk her to gain access to my phone . Smh ! I know it’s my husband ... playing willing games . Uses my SIM card ! Cloned my phone ! Getting ready to validate this with an old time FEDeral friend and I’ll go from there . I’ll let you know the results ...

My phone definitely cloned

From Josie Gomez on August 05, 2021 :: 5:12 am

Aside from them changing my recovery number on Facebook making it impossible for me to verify its my account and it’s going to be deleted tomorrow if I can’t access it, I found 2 logins with the same phone. One has the picture of my phone, but the other was a different style phone but listed as an LG ThinQ like mine. Files have been deleted, modified or created. Then all my files, pictures and apps I found in a folder in my laptop. Then files that have sensitive information from clients with their banking, Passports, etc which I had put them all on a removable disk, where all on my laptop. These are 2015 files and my laptop is from 2019. It’s been going on every single day and I don’t know what to do.

Hacked??

From Butwhylil on October 22, 2022 :: 1:42 am

Give been experiencing the same problem for a few years now.my phones says t mobile not responding or my passwords are never working. I took it to metro in Memphis but they just said download an virus app. I fear in in danger and the people that murdered my family is the people around i fear my husband is being controlled by a family off cops that are trieng to set us up so we can’t testify these are the people that hurt us when I was little. Help me please.[personal information redacted]
Please we may be on catilina island or Cj tn

Not true

From Chad Vandine on February 14, 2021 :: 12:44 am

My Aristo 5 was cloned onto an ihpone 11 somehow and was being used with roaming charges in Africa!

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Hack Attack

From Dora on June 01, 2021 :: 12:55 pm

Im confused. Why would you say only older phones cam be cloned? I had to send my phone in for repair. I was told by the 1st repair guy it was a cloned imei he believed. Is that not true?

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Newer phones can't be remotely cloned

From Josh Kirschner on June 01, 2021 :: 7:47 pm

What we said was only older phones can be “remotely cloned”. It’s possible if someone has physical access to your phone that they may be able to clone the SIM on newer devices. I would be curious to know how the repair guy determined your phone had been closed.

What about if you get

From Kelly on August 05, 2021 :: 8:02 am

What about if you get random messages that your FaceTime is being used on another phone. And that your device has been signed in on another device. How do I stop this!?

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Sounds like an Apple ID issue

From Josh Kirschner on August 05, 2021 :: 6:56 pm

If you are getting a message saying your FaceTime is being used on another device, that sounds like your Apple ID may be compromised. Did you recently set up an Apple Watch or Mac with your Apple ID? If not, you should immediately change your Apple ID credentials. And always make sure you have two-factor authentication set up for your Apple ID to protect it.

Bit too defensive

From You know on September 01, 2022 :: 11:43 am

You are giving out no vibes of goodness….only excuses as to why U think it can’t be cloning….you are evil…you do it in large numbers…you are one of the cloning cunts yourself

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Cloned and more!!

From Paula on October 02, 2022 :: 7:56 am

About two months ago my iphone started to do all kinds of things on its own and I kept getting security alertrs from my accts, etc etc… I reached out to anyone I could possibly think that could be a help or lead me to it… Well needless to say I got nowhere, mostly because everything required to go online and I could not do that with my devices, my husbands, I even went to family’s houses, libraries… This all sounded bizarre and I knew it was happening but nobody else did , I guess I can understand.. well here I am two months Into it and now my identity is exposed, I have bought 5 going on 6 cell phones in less than 2 months, and I have 3 smart tvs and they are all not working correctly and have installed software on them and I have no idea what to do or where to turn..  my phone keeps turning on sharing,, like location sharing, photo sharing, web activity share, and all kinds of weird permissions that I never even seen. Can someone please let me know what this is and how to stop it

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Change providers!!

From PV on October 04, 2023 :: 5:35 pm

You’re living with a narcissist! Who will make every attempt to destroy your life! Get a restraining order and he’s tracking your device and he’s probably also in your Internet at home. That’s how he reconnect to your phone reset all of your wireless devices at home to brand new while your phone is off use cellular at home only not wireless and change providers on your wireless network, check your phones privacy settings if it’s an android you’re in trouble because of Google play services permissions if it’s an iPhone just take it to APPLE and have them give you a new Sim card and reset it change your ID and your password once you change providers everything changes your IP address. And if your phone is on his account, you’re not ever gonna get away from him.

My husband has everything on my phone

From Nancy on May 20, 2020 :: 2:17 am

I dont understand how he can get into everything it doesn’t matter how many times I change my passwords he can still see everything.  I don’t have anything to hide I just hate him creating things in his mind then attacking me for no reason how do I remove his access?

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There's an easy explanation

From Rikki Lyn Fruen on June 23, 2020 :: 7:21 pm

Hi, Nancy. In my previous life, I had a similar situation. My now ex actually knew everything that I ever did on my computer and both verbally and physically abused me for it. It didn’t matter how many times I changed passwords, he always had access even when I was living over two hours away from him. I found later that he had at least a key stroke logger on my computer. He may have had other things going on as well, but that was the biggest problem for me. Got rid of the husband and the computer and I’ve never had another issue from him on that.
Several years later, my sister was going through a similar issue with her husband, only technology had advanced and he was able to log everything, key stroke and all, that went over their home network (think major computer geek). She got out of that, by calling me one day from the coffee shop on the corner and asking me to set up a new email account for her. She never accessed it or did anything referring to it while on the home network. For all I know, she may not have even used devices that touched it. She used that account to start remaking her digital life.
There are plenty of ways for him to know all of that stuff. You may want to consider what his motives are. You may not have anything to hide, but he is suspicious of something for some reason.

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You just changed my life

From El matto on November 02, 2020 :: 8:41 pm

You just changed my life with that idea. I have a cyber bully from a past job…long story that I just can’t seem to escape, no matter what I do. But having someone else do it for me is an amazing idea.

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Don’t blame yourself

From Amy on December 11, 2020 :: 11:46 pm

Hi Nancy
Fascinating information from Rikki and helpful as I too believe my husband is accessing and even intercepting my messages and texts. He’s worked in the communications field for years and I believe that once he figured out how to do this he became addicted to it and can’t stop now. The idea of not being able to know what I’m doing at any given time is unbearable for him. I have never done anything and he has never claimed to have caught me doing anything but he also refuses to admit that he monitors my activity. I would and have gladly shared my emails, texts and social media with him prior to my figuring out what he was doing but now the total invasion of privacy and his constant denials coupled with his accusations of my mental instability has driven a wedge between us and I no longer want to share this information with him. It has eroded our 30+ year marriage and I’m at a loss. Does anyone know how to prove that your computer and or phone are being monitored? His technical expertise far outweighs mine.  Of course all of his stuff is locked down and protected. It’s ridiculous but I’m becoming numb to the situation : ( Good luck, girls. It is comforting to know I’m not alone or crazy!

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Whoa

From Kalika on January 30, 2021 :: 2:11 pm

Amy I feel like u just plucked my life experiences straight from my head. So. Annoying. Funny thing is, I will win. Longevity baby:-) yeah I’ve literally seen my partner do it and it’s all the sudden a question of eyesite? I’m. Ok. I hallucinated the entire time?! I’m not one to be quiet about it but yes it does become rather ridiculous n I hate going over worthless things

You're not crazy

From Jim on February 03, 2021 :: 11:59 pm

The longer it goes on the more credible you become. I’m going through that with my youngest brother and his girlfriend. Addicted to hacking me. They almost got me. But I told my story to the cops.  The shear length and scope andnumber of incidents and your honesty could sway a judge to search his phone. If that happens , forget it he’s done . Its extremely traumatic.  Good luck

Me too

From Maligant’s ex on February 10, 2021 :: 4:50 am

To all you lovely women being targeted by malignant mofos who have an inexplicable desire to know everything about you at all times:
The only creatures capable of dedicating that much time to hacking and/or monitoring your devices are those with clinical narcissism. The reason they are capable of this? That part of our minds that is dedicated to love, self-reflection and processing emotions, a large part if you ask me, is defunct in their brains so that energy is spent on this shit, and what a sad, sad existence that its. They have different patterns and methods, but one thing they have in common? An unrelenting drive to mess with you, no matter what you do, until such time that you cut them off completely. My point is, and I trust that most of you already know this, is get educated on narcissism so you can escape this bullshirt and get your real life back.

My situation to a t!

From Rachel on September 11, 2021 :: 5:21 am

My husband a retired communications engineer has complete control of my phone. I have no sim cards. He has accessed my knformation so thorough several of my financial accounts are compromised & I can’t fix them. There’s nothing U can do. I believe my calls are redirected to a bogus customer service desk. It’s so frustrating. I don’t know what to do. I can’t trust anyone it seems.

I know

From Maryp on June 02, 2022 :: 5:52 am

I’m experiencing the same thing I’ve been going through it now for about 15 years I thought I was crazy actually but now it’s gotten to the point that he just cuts my calls off when he wants to right in the middle of my conversations changes my settings and my phone I would love to stop this and I’m in the same position he’s much more computer savvy than me I literally found out that it’s the router in our house records me while he’s at work and he can monitor it from his phone but he knows my text my messages my phone calls everything I do on my phone he has access to and recently my bank account and it’s still totally denying everything just like he’s innocent I am kind of stuck at the moment or I would just leave but that’s not going to stop him from being in my digital Life I want to stop that so I can totally relate it’s very much of invasion of privacy and I have nothing to hide either but what I do have is my business and what’s he going to do when I go with the information that he’s gathered

I am dealing with the same

From Love on February 05, 2023 :: 9:13 pm

Hello Amy,

I believe my boyfriend is monitoring my every move on my cellphone. He recently told me a story about his “friend” cloning his wife’s phone and caught her cheating. He one day took my phone for atleast 3/4mins, wouldn’t give it back n didn’t let me see what he was doing. Then all of the sudden, he knows too many things that he shouldn’t. Harmless things, that only I should know though, bc I didn’t tell him.
I have nothing to worry about in the cheating department, but it just sickens me to think that he has that much control and access to everything on my phone, especially since he don’t pay my phone-bill. It’s dreadful to even open my phone up bc it’s not right that he has that access to mine and his phone is locked. Even tho I i literally turn my head when he’s entering his code on his phone. I wouldn’t dare degrade myself to do anything such thing like him. It’s psychotic, disturbing, disgusting and most of all, it’s disrespectful. At the end of the day, he’s most definitely driving himself bananas way more than me being annoyed of this foolishness, to boot this is all a an obsession over what he “thinks”I am doing. I used to get very angry, but I have to kinda feel bad bc he definitely has major insecurities with himself to hindering both of us with his nonsensical behavior.

There’s an easy explanation

From Stacy George on September 11, 2022 :: 3:04 am

I am going through the same thing right now. Is there any advice that you can give me right now.

Reply

Look in your permissions in settings

From Chad Vandine on February 14, 2021 :: 12:47 am

If that doesnt work then save anything you want to keep to google doc…drive protos….then just wipe everything. Google will store anything you give em smile just get that spyware removed and put in a security measure to require your fingerprint for any app installation. Yes that includes those off the web as well

Reply

Google

From Mary Mitchell on February 15, 2021 :: 5:49 pm

If they clone your phone wouldn’t they have access to Google Apps?

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I'm going through the same thing

From Anntoinette Mabery on April 14, 2022 :: 9:50 pm

My husband also can tell me every text call or pictures that me and my best friend takes and that drives me crazy. I need help. What can I do to stop this?

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Same issue

From Jen Jen on June 28, 2022 :: 7:28 pm

How do I verify phone sim serial IP address and erase All Data from All apps from multiple devices? I’m tired of Google not being able to verify I am who I say I am and refusing to let me change my password and delete my duplicated history. Everyone I go to an app or a site my history doubles the application like someone is riding with me but not right beside me. I think this is my ex too. Even though he’s always claimed to be ignorant of smart phones. Please help. There are county officials after my family and I’m not sure who or what to trust because i am ignorant to the application process and privacy settings. My finances are at stake as well.

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Get a hobby

From Urname on May 29, 2020 :: 5:10 am

I have a very good understanding of revenge and I must say that going and teaming up with hackers is cowardly, if getting revenge means that much to you why not get it by letting karma come along, on its own!!! Who to say that person who you want revenge on won’t just snap. Clearly they already did something to you to get you to the point of cloning there phone so who’s to say that person already didn’t or doesn’t have a conscience and won’t hurt someone????

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Cloned or Hacked

From Christopher on August 07, 2020 :: 9:00 pm

Have any of you people called you phone service provider and asked for a new SIM card? I believe Verizon only charges $20 for a new SIM card.
As for your email accounts unfortunately the best choice is to dump them and open new accounts with a different computer.
You can also backup any information you want to save on a separate hard drive and then do a fresh restart on your computer and all other devices.

Reply

Think someone cloned my boyfriends cell number

From Amber Davis on October 25, 2020 :: 11:40 am

A friend on Facebook messaged me and said he got a missed call from my boyfriend sent a screenshot to show me… So we my boyfriend and I looked at his phone it only shows a missed call from my friend where he called back… But I don’t even have this friends number it’s not even listed in Facebook… My boyfriend’s number was listed on Facebook so we hide it on his info…. The only conclusion we can come up with is maybe a certain family member of mine has used a clone app to start trouble…

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Powerless

From Green, Shawn on November 02, 2020 :: 2:55 pm

I’m having the same issue. I’ve notice that there is / a tracker or something on my phone. Each time I would go somewhere with a friend he would call there phone talking could they pick up something for them. The last time I pick up a friends medication and chilled with them. However I stopped to pick up my sister. Blew my phone up. Where you at. So I was like whatever, over a girlfriend house. Not even 2 min later he was there like where was you at. So all that just says you know where I’m at. Left the best part for last. Perform an experiment turn off my locater, came home just to see that look. I know now hmmmm.

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IMEI question

From JG on December 06, 2020 :: 2:17 am

I just purchased a “new” Pixel 3, shipped and sold from Amazon (not a third party seller). The box was unopened, but it had a poorly removed sticker that used to be covering the IMEI # and other barcodes/serial numbers printed on the outside label. Is this a concern? I haven’t inserted a SIM card yet, since I was reading this article and I am skeptical now. Is the phone at risk if someone (like a retailer in this case) wrote down the IMEI beforehand?

Also, if it is such a sensitive number, why does the IMEI # come printed on the outside of the retail box packaging of cellphones?

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I'd like to participate

From Dayna Hotalingjohnson on December 13, 2020 :: 9:57 pm

I’ve had 3 phones stolen I know that my phone has been acting odd but has gotten worse. I’ve even had to pull my kids from school and home school. Messed up thing is it’s not just my phone my parents complain my kids as well as spouse there is somthi6very wrong please help

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One step at a time

From Have no fear on December 20, 2020 :: 11:14 am

Don’t be afraid of it all. Face it day by day. Continue doing good and the criminals will surface and be caught. There’s thousands of satellites in the universe to pinpoint and track everyone. There’s cameras everywhere. If they set you up or have people do bad things to you then Only a lawyer can help. The more they ruined you, the more proofs they add up for you to finally put them where they belong in the first place. Moving to a remote place will not solve your problems. Deal with it through certified mail and everything will be okay. One step at a time. You are the rightful owner of your identity and anyone stealing your identity is punishable by law. Use that term to your extent. For every actions the criminals do against will be your evidences. Write it down, date and time. How it happened. How many people. Witnesses. Record everything in a journal. Forward your texts and phone calls to your attorney. Soon there will be no more problems.

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This is happening to me

From Cynthia on February 04, 2021 :: 12:34 pm

This is happening to me now. Please help they are after my grant money I’m pretty sure

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Can anybody Suggest what to

From R hard on February 19, 2021 :: 8:23 pm

Can anybody Suggest what to do to fix the issue of a clone phone.

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Mine flashes, I've joined git

From S. R. C on April 30, 2021 :: 3:33 am

Mine flashes, I’ve joined git hub. Omg,I have been hacked in a big way.  I advice all to join or join something similar. As for the reply about it happens on your phone etc etc
Follow your gutt & investigate it.  That. I’ve been experiencing cyber abuse for a long time. Don’t be a victim. Good luck everyone

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I know I'm got cloned can I know by who

From Melissa Hunt on June 20, 2021 :: 4:35 pm

Need to know by who

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Not sure if you'll read

From Amanda M Lucak on August 12, 2021 :: 4:01 pm

Not sure if you’ll read this, I found your site helpful. We currently have a cloned phone/sim card. We unfortunately live in a nation where cybercrime is not a thing, yay for Canada, lets jot down your information for our records but not do anything. Our security was hacked and our isp as well as our security contacts refuse to help us. My question is, how do you go about removing a serious type of attack like this? Do we replace cell phone as well as sim card?

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Cloned or hijacked?

From Josh Kirschner on August 13, 2021 :: 10:23 am

The process of cloning vs hijacking a SIM card is different (as we discuss above), and impacts how you need to protect yourself going forward. More information about why/how you think your phone is cloned would be helpful for understanding the issue.

However, the immediate action is the same in either case - contact your cellphone carrier and have them address the issue with the unauthorized SIM card. This will likely mean simply issuing you a new SIM and your carrier should be willing to do that (for a small cost).

There shouldn’t be any reason to replace your phone. Even if an attacker has your IMEI (the unique phone identifier) there’s not much they could do with it (beyond, potentially, basic location tracking). It’s the SIM card that’s the issue.

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Cloned

From Mary Kay on August 24, 2021 :: 7:57 pm

I have Not had Control of Any Phone hence Verizon added a Phone to my plan ??  Family sharing My Name IPHONE8, my name Ipad, THISIPHONE8, titled like that added..I call and am told it was a new phone issued to me, ?? I was talking on my New phone, 6 Phones later, I now have a Public IP address, My Remote is Radio Frequency ??  By Direct TV???  I dial local numbers with a plus 1,

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How can I deal with this the FBI won't metroo police won't isn't someone going to deal with this

From Thomas Uhlmer on October 28, 2021 :: 7:02 am

I’ve been dealing with a cyberbully for over a year law enforcement won’t help 1st he stole my identity and now he just wants to ruin everything I try to do.I know his name where he works and given this info to the
  FBI the FTC and LVMPD TO NO AVAILTHEY SAID THERES TO MUCH to many too chase and arrest what can a person do?

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Why does it require so much info If you are cloned and you can't even file your taxes at the library

From Thomas Uhlmer on October 28, 2021 :: 7:18 am

I don’t have a IRS problem I have a identity theft morphed into brutal b cyber bullying it doesn’t matter what it is he’s there to foul it up,He steals my emails my messages changes my words to make me a fool and never ending cc and bank charges banks encourage one banking but its useless to Identify theft victims who also have cloned phones I have had 14 phones and email address and no one FBI, FTC,LVMPD DOES ANYTHING

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point it's been going on

From Lyn on November 05, 2021 :: 1:59 pm

point it’s been going on for over 5 years and I don’t know what to do since my provider can’t seem to give me any answers. At times it’s extremely Scarry, but it’s always confusing and depressing not understanding why. I’m broke, broken and sometimes wonder if I’ll ever know why they’re intentionally trying to bother my psyche and life.

Reply

Cloned

From Sun Whitworth on December 15, 2021 :: 1:01 am

I have been getting calls and texts saying I called people at times when I have been asleep or not around my phone. Today I have made 0 calls and have gotten messages I had called someone 10 times. Another message threatening to hunt me down and f,,,,me up if I’m not a lending company

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Spoofing, not cloning

From Josh Kirschner on December 23, 2021 :: 11:46 am

It sounds like someone is spoofing your phone number to make illegal telemarketing calls/scams. This, unfortunately, is pretty common (it’s happened to me, too) and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ll just have to inform the irate callers that you didn’t call them and your number was spoofed. Fortunately, these issues should be reduced this year as STIR/SHAKEN is implemented across phone carriers.

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Free service

From Me on January 26, 2022 :: 10:42 am

Service ended January 19, yet I still have service. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation?

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I'm pretty sure my phone is either hacked or data has been hacked

From Moonlight on February 13, 2022 :: 10:24 pm

Since my phone has been in for repair. I have had non stop problems of getting locked out of my accounts. Amazon being one of them I have been blocked out from Amazon due to suspicious activity. I have also had emails from Amazon stating; “We believe that an unauthorized person has accessed your Amazon account and attempted to place an order. For your protection, we have canceled the order.”
I have also received text messages from my binance which is a cryto account asking me to verify my I.D one day and I ignored it and the next day I received another message stating that the I.D was not accepted.

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Hmm...that's not good

From Josh Kirschner on February 14, 2022 :: 10:22 am

That doesn’t sound good. I suspect that this isn’t cloning but that whoever fixed your phone accessed your stored account passwords on the device. I don’t know what kind of repair they did, but did you unlock your device for them or give them your lockcode/pin?

I would immediately change all of your passwords and set up two-factor authentication for the critical ones (which you should have anyhow). And if there is a way to report these issues to whoever runs the repair place, I would consider it.

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