phonecloning

Man sentenced to 65 months in prison over phone 'cloning' scheme

The US is tying loose ends on an elaborate cellphone crime spree. A Florida judge has sentenced Braulio De la Cruz Vasquez to 65 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges he worked with four co-conspirators (who've already pleaded guilty) as part of a ring that would 'clone' phones and use them for international calls. De la Cruz would receive identifying information linked to wireless subscribers' accounts and use that to "reprogram" cellphones he controlled. After that, his partners would send international calls to his home internet connection and route them through the hijacked phones, making the unwitting victims pay for others' calls.