Jon Kyl: “I rise to introduce the Cellular Telephone Protection Act, which would improve the ability of law enforcement to…”

“I rise to introduce the Cellular Telephone Protection Act, which would improve the ability of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute individuals engaged in the activity of cloning cellular phones. Law enforcement officials and wireless carriers support the bill as an important tool to stem this kind of telecommunications fraud. Cell phones are manufactured with an embedded electronic serial number [ESN], which is transmitted to gain access to the telecommunications network. Those involved in cloning cell phones sit in parked cars outside of airports or along busy roadways to harvest ESN's from legitimate cell phone users and, in a process known as cloning, use software and equipment to insert the stolen numbers into other cell phones, the clones. A single ESN can be implanted into several cloned phones. The cloned phones charge to the account of the lawful, unsuspecting user. Cellular phone carriers must absorb these losses, which, according to the Cellular Telecommunication Industry Association, amounted to about $650 million in 1995, up from $480 million in 1994. The cellular industry is expanding by about 40 percent a year; efforts to combat fraud are imperative to ensure the integrity of our communications network. Cloning is more than an inconvenience to the 36 million Americans who currently use cellular phone services, and an expense to wireless communication companies who pay for the fraudulent calls.”