But after years of being on the losing end of fraud, cellular carriers and mobile-phone manufacturers say they've learned a few tricks themselves. They'll attempt to violate weaker targets. Cellular fraud was virtually nonexistent before 1990. But since then it's been a high-growth industry. The industry estimates that 40,000 illegal wireless numbers are activated each month.
Fraud takes place in several ways.
Phone equipment is stolen outright and used. A subscriber uses false information and identification to obtain an account. Or, even more pesky, because the theft can go undetected, a mobile phone number and its electronic serial number are stolen off the airwaves. Stealing a number is relatively easy if a thief has the proper equipment. With an electronic device called a reader, the bandit scans cellular frequencies for information.