Just curious, my question is
Code:
Why is IMEI modification illegal in USA?
How is it illegal? Who prohibits it: FCC, Congress bill, Federal law....?
NOTE: I am NOT asking how to modify IMEI
That's against xda TOS. I'm asking why it is illegal. There's a difference.
Been trying to find an answer to this. From this previous thread, no one can give me a straight answer. Can't find any answer relating to US laws
I can find answers relating to UK laws:
example: In UK, it is illegal due to this Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act 2002 passed in 2002.. but then there's a loophole (i can modify IMEI if I created the device, or the manufacture allowed me to)... (I havent read any of the amendments to see if those loopholes are changed)
Currently, there is no specific law the prohibits the reprogramming of IMEI's explicitly. However, because IMEI's are used by wireless carriers as a unique ID, by reprogramming your IMEI, if that new IMEI shares an IMEI with someone else, you would be "impersonating" that person digitally, and therefore you would still be in violation of the law. Also note that wireless carriers use a blacklist by request of the government to blacklist stolen phones by IMEI, so if you have a blacklisted phone, and you reprogram the IMEI, you would be facing stiffer penalties than by just being in possession of a stolen mobile device.
syung said:
Currently, there is no specific law the prohibits the reprogramming of IMEI's explicitly. However, because IMEI's are used by wireless carriers as a unique ID, by reprogramming your IMEI, if that new IMEI shares an IMEI with someone else, you would be "impersonating" that person digitally, and therefore you would still be in violation of the law.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For GSM phones, IMEI is the device identifier, IMSI is the identifier for the sim card/subscriber. carriers should be using IMSI to identify users, not IMEI.
(for CDMA networks, the MEID/ESN identifies both the device and the subscriber .
but of course, carriers might be using IMEI + IMSI (google "Samsung lost IMEI" - IMEI set to 0 or blank when you flash custom roms. Some people can't use the phones, some people can)
Also note that wireless carriers use a blacklist by request of the government to blacklist stolen phones by IMEI, so if you have a blacklisted phone, and you reprogram the IMEI, you would be facing stiffer penalties than by just being in possession of a stolen mobile device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A) T-mobile and At&t only began to share their blacklist recently... verizon will join them shortly this year. don't think there's a unified national list yet)
B) there's always a trade off between good and bad....
(i don't like using this analogy, but can't think of another one. let's stick to phones)
guns = bad guys can kill innocent people = bad
guns = good guys can use to protect themselves = good
weight bad v. good
The reason it is illegal is due to cell phone cloning. As I stated in the last thread. Yet you decide to open another? Well here is a little bit more detail
What is Cell Phone Cloning Fraud?
Every cell phone is supposed to have a unique factory-set electronic serial number (ESN/IMEI) and telephone number (MIN). A cloned cell phone is one that has been reprogrammed to transmit the ESN/IMEI and MIN belonging to another (legitimate) cell phone. Unscrupulous people can obtain valid 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 systems cannot distinguish the cloned cell phone from the legitimate one. The legitimate phone user then gets billed for the cloned phone’s calls. Call your carrier if you think you have been a victim of cloning fraud.
As changing the IMEI is cloning a device it falls under this FCC law.
Now after having one thread closed and you open another on this same topic that you know is not to be talked about on XDA, I will leave it as this. If you have any more issues concerning this contact the FCC about it.
Thread closed
Related
I had a software company ask me for the IMEI for my phone - is there any issue with me giving them this number? Ultimately, what malicious activies could they perform with knowing my IMEI?
Thanks!
if they report your imei to the police as a stolen phone it's blocked and precious few ever gotten their imei off those lists making the phone useless
They could duplicate the imei number to an other device and make illegal activities using that imei number which is billed to you.
You wonder the story next
Semseddin said:
They could duplicate the imei number to an other device and make illegal activities using that imei number which is billed to you.
You wonder the story next
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you would also have to have their same sim number for that to work.
josefcrist said:
you would also have to have their same sim number for that to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right!
IMEI refers to the International Mobile Equipment Identifier, a unique 15 digit code programmed into each mobile phone during production. The number holds information regarding manufacturer, model type and the approval body for the handset. The identification, bound into the IMEI when combined with the use of blacklisting and a connection the CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register, is one route to preventing stolen devices being used on authorized networks. However, if the integrity of the code relating to the communication of the IMEI with the network is not guaranteed, the device is open to attack. This is the case with many current handsets, allowing impersonation of the IMEI and again rendering this security feature ineffective and redundant.
Year 22nd Dec 2008 in Turkey, there was a police operation for cloned phones and illegally saved imei numbers... Police has arrested over 50 people and got over 10 thousand cloned phones with real imei numbers... One of the arrested told to police that they bought the imei numbers from some internet sites as packages of 1000 imei numbers... It is really harmfull to post imei numbers on the web... Be carefull while buying secondhand phones also...
That Should Sum It up
It is very important to not give to anyone your imei number. Here in Greece we had few affairs with that issue.
thank God there ain any Android Signed
Semseddin said:
They could duplicate the imei number to an other device and make illegal activities using that imei number which is billed to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
one more reason to hate nokia and their bloody Symbian Signed. opda must have milions of imeis worldwide cause of theire stupid software. long live google and the android
Giiving imei number is like givn ur bank card pin......Dont do it!
is this still true, till this day? are there any security updates made to prevent these danger?
I gave out my IMEI number to a person posing as a personnel from MTN in Abuja, Nigeria. He said that they going to upgrade my phone to 4 G platform. Is there anything like this from MTN Nigeria?
Abuamatullah said:
I gave out my IMEI number to a person posing as a personnel from MTN in Abuja, Nigeria. He said that they going to upgrade my phone to 4 G platform. Is there anything like this from MTN Nigeria?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Almost every phone is like this.
When the carriers developed a certain product, they could just update your phone through your software (A last patch for the phone). ? By going to system update.
The software is always limited to what your hardware's phone could do, and you should have expertise to know that.
What I meant here is, after they released a product, they would forgot it and go to the drawing board and make a more improved phone, they won't really need your phone because they are the ones who manufactured it(same for the source codes). It would be seemingly suspicious for someone to have an interest to your phone which will be outdated in a couple of months or a year.
In response toF(RED) in a previous thread.
Hmmm, jurisdiction is the key word here.
From my research the IMEI is purchased by the manufacturer for each phone they produce.
In this case Samsung purchases it from the Brits. So the jurisdiction lies in the British jurisdiction.
That being the case, the carriers in the U.S. have no jurisdiction to affect Samsungs' IMEI numbers. Samsung (which is based in Korea) paid for it, NOT the U.S. carriers.
In light of that, anyone in the U.S. owning a Samsung device should not fall in the jurisdiction of the Brits with respect to what they do with a device they purchase in the U.S., as in purchasing the device in the U.S. basically YOU are in effect purchasing the rights to that IMEI from the moment the carrier sells a Samsung phone to you, at which point the carrier no longer has the right to dictate anything with respect to the IMEI, and as such the carrier can't legally TOUCH your IMEI (barring it having been reported by the owner as lost or stolen of course, which is what the intents and purposes of an IMEI is all about and why it has been been implemented on a device in the first place) nor would it be illegal for you to change the IMEI of a device that you purchased the rights to through transfer of ownership (once you pay for the phone the carrier in effect will be transferring the rights of that IMEI to you) since it's YOUR phone.
So basically if you can produce a receipt for the purchase of the device, no law is broken with respect to the IMEI by the owner but I would tend to think if your IMEI is not rightfully blocked by a carrier (if you did not report your phone to the carrier that it was stolen) Then it would be illegal for the CARRIER to block your phones IMEI...,and if they did then you would in turn have a right to change it because in the carrier doing so, they illegally blocked a phones IMEI that is your property and there would be no other recourse than to change it so that it can be used on their network because your IMEI purchased with the phone is legally and rightfully free to use their network.
If you have a receipt for your purchase and you have issues with your IMEI, then you go back to your Carrier for clarification and or resolution.
Jurisdiction is not the key word:
What is IMEI?
Mobile phones, except the serial number have also IMEI number. IMEI — International Mobile Equipment Identity. IMEI — a common standard for all mobile devices, which is assigned to the phone at the time of manufacture it in the factory. It's the unique number, which is broadcasting to the carrier to authorize phone in the network. Structure of the IMEI is the same for all phones regardless of manufacturer. IMEI number is also used to track and block lost or stolen phones by the carrier, which further prevents to use of such devices. However, blocking IMEI in one carrier network have no effect in others networks.
Thank You and Thread Closed.
Hi guys, I have a at&t htc one x that I bought about 2 years ago.
My country laws don't let us use phones that bought from abroad. We need to pay about 50 dollars (which I did last year) to allow to use the phone legally. Somehow when I back to my country 2 days ago, I saw that my phone has blocked once again now I can't use the phone This shouldn't be happen because I followed the legal procedure and I have to use the phone forever in my country.
Anyway I won't pay once again even if I won't be able to use the phone. I have a imei number from my old htc hd2 (I don't use that phone anymore) If I can replace imei numbers I will keep using my phone without problem.
Can I change my at&t one x's imei number somehow? My phone is rooted but I don't have any idea about how to change imei
Thanks for help!
Nobody here can advise you what to do in your situation fire a few reasons.
1. Changing the IMEI of a device is illegal in any country.
2. Attempting to subvert any law is strictly and specifically forbidden by XDA rules.
3. Any member attempting to break any law, or assisting another prison to break any law, is subject to severe repercussions.
Sent from my Evita
THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Changing IMEI is illegal in many countries therefore not allowed on XDA.
I bought a phone the other day off trademe and tried to put my sim in but get no network coverage ? im guessing it was stolen or something and has been blocked. just wondering if theres any way i can unblock the imei ??
If you truly believe the device is stolen or has otherwise been acquired through illegitimate means, we can't help you - you should contact the authorities and have the seller investigated. Stealing is a crime and stolen IMEIs are blocked for that very reason.
If not, first check that the phone supports the network frequencies that your carrier uses wherever you are - not all phones support all bands, and not all carriers support all bands either.
If you can tell us the make and model of the phone, we can point you to a device-specific forum in case it's a general problem or issue with that phone model.
Beyond that, you can try to take up with the manufacturer of the phone or the carrier if it's a carrier-branded phone.
I once had to make numerous called to my carrier's support line because my new imported phone was somehow registered in my carrier's database as a completely different kind of device, so the system kept kicking me off the data plan.
Basically from what I've read, changing IMEI number is illegal in most countries, however it would be detectable only if the 2 devices are using the same carrier? Or worldwide?
For example, device 1 is in USA using Verizon, and device 2 is in Europe using Vodafone. Would it cause issues anyway?
alxv1 said:
Basically from what I've read, changing IMEI number is illegal in most countries, however it would be detectable only if the 2 devices are using the same carrier? Or worldwide?
For example, device 1 is in USA using Verizon, and device 2 is in Europe using Vodafone. Would it cause issues anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In many countries it isn't illegal. The intent of the law is to stop criminals changing the numbers and then selling the phones, and I understand prosecutions are usually brought on this basis, not for changing your own one.
If the change is made outside a jurisdiction where it is illegal then it may comply with the letter of the law. Some countries also have a limit of how many phones you can carry out of the country.
It may also happen inadvertently if you load a new rom onto your phone, legislators often don't have the technical knowledge to see the implications of their laws. (How would you correct it back?)
The IMEI number has a checkdigit so any number can't be used.
If you are worried about tracking and privacy then this is a quite legitimate goal, but don't forget the sim card number also associates with the user, also any apps that login. Also don't forget to disable the base station software push services on your phones.
To avoid causing problems for random users, ie both devices being blacklisted, use that of another old phone you own or try to do some research on number allocation.
It seems from other online comments that both telephone number and IMEI are cross referenced within that particular network. Often blacklisted IMEI numbers will work in other jurisdictiins, which is why people are sometimes caught travelling with a bag packed full of phones.
On a positive note though there is nothing to stop you trying to make a boot script to change mac address, but remember that the second digit should always be even.
david68429 said:
In many countries it isn't illegal. The intent of the law is to stop criminals changing the numbers and then selling the phones, and I understand prosecutions are usually brought on this basis, not for changing your own one.
If the change is made outside a jurisdiction where it is illegal then it may comply with the letter of the law. Some countries also have a limit of how many phones you can carry out of the country.
It may also happen inadvertently if you load a new rom onto your phone, legislators often don't have the technical knowledge to see the implications of their laws. (How would you correct it back?)
The IMEI number has a checkdigit so any number can't be used.
If you are worried about tracking and privacy then this is a quite legitimate goal, but don't forget the sim card number also associates with the user, also any apps that login. Also don't forget to disable the base station software push services on your phones.
To avoid causing problems for random users, ie both devices being blacklisted, use that of another old phone you own or try to do some research on number allocation.
It seems from other online comments that both telephone number and IMEI are cross referenced within that particular network. Often blacklisted IMEI numbers will work in other jurisdictiins, which is why people are sometimes caught travelling with a bag packed full of phones.
On a positive note though there is nothing to stop you trying to make a boot script to change mac address, but remember that the second digit should always be even.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply, thanks for the very useful info!