SIM Cloning – Is Someone else using your cell number?

One of my beloved buddy from INCPak Forum on facebook shared his problem with me and I thought it was worth researching on and sharing with everyone.

He is facing some unusual activity from his mobile phone number, he noticed that his mobile Sim balance is being deducted without any usage, after noticing he called customer care center they told him to download an app from google playstore and check the activity. On doing so, he was terrified to know that unwanted SMS are being sent from his contact number to INDIA (International SMS) ofcourse each one charges Rs.5+ tax however the problem is not the amount but he did not send any of those. Immediately he contacted me and asked what to do about this issue, at first he thought using Gionee S6 Stock Rom on his QMobile Z12 could be causing the issue (sending SMS automatically) but that’s impossible and it does not make any sense at all.

Suddenly it popped up in mind, SIM CLONING! Yes you heard me correct. Back in 2010 it was a hotcake business in mobile markets across the country to clone SIM card, although it sounds mission impossible but everything is possible in this digital era, for Rs.500 anyone was able to get it cloned from mobile market and people were using this to spy on girl/boyfriends,wives, hubbies and even the terrorism purpose, for that they required the original SIM card to clone.

A country like Pakistan where terrorist activities are happening on daily basis – It is essential for us to keep ourselves updated about technical information and the possibilities.  Cloned SIMs are totally illegal and recently a news paragraph which captured my attention.

“The exercise revealed that all terrorists and extortionists were using unregistered and fake SIMs. Although the federal government has made biometric verification a prerequisite for issuance of new SIM and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has also launched a campaign its verification, the fact remains that despite all these steps the terrorists and criminals continue to use fake SIMs for their nefarious activities.” – DAWN NEWS 

Although nowadays we don’t find SIM Cloning openly anywhere, that doesn’t mean  Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Law Enforcement Agencies has successfully wiped it off from this surface instead with time the procedure and advancement made it much easier to be done.

Most probably his SIM card is cloned and someone else is sending SMS which are appearing in his smartphone app activity log.

This is a serious issue, it is imperative to educate people about how it gets done, what’s the procedure sharing the In-depth information about SIM Card and SIM CLONING!

Disclaimer: The process is illegal, writer is not responsible for any loss which arises due to the trick. The below-mentioned trick is only for educational purpose. 

SIM CARD IN-DEPTH

Our sim cards contain two secret codes or keys called (imsi value and ki value) which enables the operator to know the mobile number and authenticate the customer ,these codes are related to our mobile numbers which the operators store in their vast data base,it is based on these secret keys that enables the billing to be made to that customer. now what we do in sim cloning is extract these two secret codes from the sim and programme it into a new blank smart card often known as wafer, since the operator authentication on sims is based on these values,it enables us to fool the operators in thinking that its the original sim,this authentication is a big flaw concerning GSM technology.

How to clone a Sim Card

Cloning a card:

Sim cards are manufactured on the basis of 3 algorithms COMP128v1,COMP128v2 and COMP128v3

now an important note currently only COMP128v1 version sim cards can be
cloned ,since this is the only algorithm which has been cracked by users, bear in mind that 70% of all the sim cards we use are COMP128v1 .

1. Buy a SIM card Reader

2. Need a Blank SIM card or super SIM card

3. Download and install MagicSIM

4. Download and install USB SIM Card Reader Software 

6. Go in phone tools, select SIM card, then select unlock SIM, it will prompt for a code.

7 Call network provider, they will ask for your phone number, your account info, name and security code, then they will ask why you want to unlock your SIM card, just tell them you need to unlock your SIM to get it to work with your overseas phone or something.

8. Once they give you the SIM unlock code, enter it, and it will say SIM unlocked.

9. Remove the SIM from your phone, place it in the card reader, click read from card in magic SIM the application.

10. When it displays ‘connected’, select crack SIM in the toolbar. Click strong ki and select all of the other find options and then click start.

11. Once your ki is found and the crack is finished, click file, save as and save your cracked SIM info to a file.

12. IMPORTANT!!! You must click disconnect from the file menu or you will ruin your SIM card.

Once it says disconnected, remove the SIM. Put the SIM in your phone and see if it still works, it should. (If not, either you did not unlock your SIM, or you tried to copy it instead of crack and save.)

13. Insert blank 3g card USB SIM Card Reader Software3.0.1.5, not magic SIM at this point.

14. Click connect

15. It should say ‘No Info Found’ if it is truly blank.

16. Select write to SIM, it will prompt you to select a dat file, select the one you saved earlier. Now click start, it will take about 10 minutes to write it, once it is complete, it will ask for a security code, enter the security code the network provider gave you, then click finish.

17. Your card is now cloned.

It should be noted that if you try to make two calls at the same time, one will connect; the other will say call failed, both phones will get the same messages, text, and voice, and both will receive the same calls, but only one can talk at a time.

In case if you have noticed unprecedented activity especially balance deduction without any use or like the buddy facing the issue of SMS being sent and visible on LOG activity meanwhile none of those SMS exist on his smartphone. Report to the authorities immediately before being caught up as a terrorist facilitator and unfortunately, it’s going to be difficult to prove in the court.

 Almost all the cellular mobile companies uploaded smartphone apps on Google Play store to check the logs and activity at any time for free don’t forget to download.

The purpose is to aware you about SIM Cloning don’t take it lightly!  It’s happening.