Phone Cloning: Is it real?

Squadron7

Joined: Dec 4, 2002

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10:44a, 3/7/13

AG

I've seen phones cloned/paired on about a hundred TV shows now. Is it really possible to do that?

TexAg_Kyle

Joined: Nov 26, 2006

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1:06p, 3/7/13

AG

Well on Person of Interest I'm pretty sure they use Bluetooth to load an application on the phone. So if you can have the skills to hack a phone via Bluetooth. I don't see why not.

AgDev01

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3:05p, 3/7/13

AG

For GSM you would just need to clone the SIM card.

TexasRebel

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10:12a, 3/8/13

AG

I'm not sure both phones would ring like they do in the movies. I think both phones would fight for their presence at the cell tower. Whichever phone checks in last will get the calls, and outgoing calls would not be picked up by the other device.

benMath08

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10:19a, 3/8/13

AG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_cloning
Lots of "citation needed" but it seems like you need physical access to the phone and some advanced equipment. It seems theoretically possible, but I bet if it were easy you'd hear about it on the news a lot.

That is, unless the only people cloning phones are the government /tinfoilhat

TexicanHippy

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11:29p, 3/9/13

AG

It was much much more common back on the old AMPS system. I had a step-uncle (RIP) who did it once, he was a bit of a tinkerer / hacker before everyone had a computer, if I remember right you could seriously steal the ID number off the airwaves and program it until a new phone, it was that easy.

Walter Kovacs

Joined: Sep 23, 2007

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12:39a, 3/10/13

AG

if you were close enough and knew the type of carrier, you wouldn't even have to clone. at one of the hacker conferences a while back someone showed off a homebrew spoofed cell tower (it cost maybe a grand if i remember). it essentially pulled in all cell traffic within a certain area.