My iPhone 11 has been cloned, how do I stop it?

abdulazeez162 wrote:

My phone has been cloned, how do i stop it?

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cell-phone-fraud

What is cell phone or SIM cloning fraud?

Every cell phone should have a unique factory-set electronic serial number (ESN) and a mobile identification number (MIN). A cloned cell phone is one that has been reprogrammed to transmit the ESN and MIN belonging to another cell phone. Scammers can steal ESN/MIN combinations by illegally monitoring the radio wave transmissions from the cell phones of legitimate subscribers. After cloning, both the legitimate and the fraudulent cell phones have the same ESN/MIN combination and cellular providers cannot distinguish the cloned cell phone from the legitimate one. Scammers can then run up expensive toll charges and the legitimate phone user gets billed for the cloned phone's calls. Alert your service provider if you see unauthorized calls or charges on your account.

MrHoffman wrote:

After cloning, both the legitimate and the fraudulent cell phones have the same ESN/MIN combination and cellular providers cannot distinguish the cloned cell phone from the legitimate one.

I wonder how old this information is. It refers to ESN/MIN combinations that predate SIMs and are no longer used. IMEIs have replaced ESNs. Unless, perhaps, they're using the term "ESN" generically? Also, when I started in the cellular industry in 1996, cloning was an issue. However, the carriers pretty much stamped it out by the turn of the century. They can, in fact, tell if more than one phone is trying to use the same information and they shut down the number until the issue can be resolved. And now that we use SIM cards, the game is completely different. There are certainly frauds that can be perpetrated using SIM cards (SIM swapping) but they aren't cloning.

Usual shenanigans lately involve adding another phone and another user to an existing plan, and then reconfiguring or removing the original device(s) from the plan; what's better known as account take-over. Which is about as messy with a cellular plan takeover as with an Apple ID takeover.

MrHoffman wrote:

Usual shenanigans lately involve adding another phone and another user to an existing plan, and then reconfiguring or removing the original device(s) from the plan; what's better known as account take-over. Which is about as messy with a cellular plan takeover as with an Apple ID takeover.

That would require some social engineering. Carriers generally require some type of account validation. But that's often easier than actually hacking equipment.

SIM swapping is also an issue. eSIMs help with that.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

That would require some social engineering. Carriers generally require some type of account validation. But that's often easier than actually hacking equipment.

Hacking people and processes is usually easier, though I've also met some 😳 configurations during authorized security reviews.

SIM swapping is also an issue. eSIMs help with that.

Having your second factor tied to the local (removable) SIM can end badly. MFA doesn't protect against that.

Your phone has not been cloned. What makes you think that it has?

If you are having issues with your social media apps there is the problem but cloning an iPhone, how’s that? Please explain us

MrHoffman wrote:

Having your second factor tied to the local (removable) SIM can end badly. MFA doesn't protect against that.

Without question.