Mobile Phones Being Hacked and Cloned: Kingpin Busted for @McAfeeConsumer

17 Mar 2012 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

2:42

In a Fox 25 News segment, reporter Nicole Jacobs covers the arrest of 30‑year‑old Miguel Jesurún (also known as Haisarim), a federal fugitive listed on the Secret Service’s top‑10 most‑wanted, who is alleged to have led a $250 million cell‑phone cloning and fraud operation. The suspect was captured in Peabody, Massachusetts after a routine traffic stop, and two Secret Service agents took him into custody. The report explains that the scheme involved using portable scanners to read SIM card data, copying that data onto other SIMs, and then using the cloned phones to make international calls, often targeting border towns. McAfee consultant and identity‑theft expert Robert Siciliano describes how the technology works, shares his personal experience of being a victim of a clone from Tijuana, and advises consumers to regularly review their phone statements and monitor call activity to detect unauthorized usage. The segment notes that while local charges have been dismissed, federal charges remain pending, potentially carrying up to 20 years in prison.

Chapters

And a federal fugitive busted on a local level. More on the multi-million-dollar scheme coming up.
This is Fox 25 News at 6.
He was accused of being involved in a multi-million-dollar cell phone scam. It's a man wanted by the Secret Service arrested right here in Massachusetts. This whole thing happening thanks to a routine traffic stop. Nicole Jacobs is live in Peabody where the whole thing unfolded. What's this all about, Nicole?
Well, Maria, I would venture to guess the Peabody officer who pulled behind this vehicle had no idea he was about to make an arrest of this caliber. Federal authorities believe the suspect in this case was the mastermind behind the operation, with about a dozen people working under him who ultimately, according to investigators, brought in about $250 million.
His court appearance in Peabody District Court Monday on a much smaller scale than what's to come for 30-year-old Miguel Jesurún.
There are two agents here from the United States Secret Service to take this defendant into custody.
His time on the run as a federal fugitive The fugitive of justice came to an end after a routine traffic stop. It turns out Haisarim initially gave police a false name, but when they finally determined the real one, they had him. A top 10 list fugitive, an alleged ringleader and mastermind behind a $250 million cell phone cloning operation.
Criminals will use scanners to basically scan the signals of phone calls that you make.
And from this tiny SIM card, the duplication, or in this case, the crime begins.
And then they burn that data onto another SIM card and just put that into a phone, and now they can make international calls.
McAfee consultant and identity theft expert Robert Siciliano says phone cloning is more common in border towns. He has actually been a victim to such crime.
And they suspected that because I was in San Diego, that the phone was cloned from Mexico in Tijuana.
And unfortunately, it's easy because of legal uses of the scanners. The how-to kits are online, making the true efforts of protection at your own fingertips.
Ultimately, to protect yourself, you really need to pay very close attention to your statement. I recommend going online at least every couple of weeks, or at least monthly, looking at every single call.
A black market scheme crumbled by local authorities while the accused leader's fate is in the hands of the feds.
And incidentally, the local charges here have been dismissed, but of course those federal charges still stand, and if he is convicted and found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison. That's the latest from Peabody. Mark and Maria, back to you.