Horrific information about cloned phones revealed after NEIR launch

Following the launch of the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) in Bangladesh, a shocking surge of cloned and counterfeit mobile devices has been revealed, raising serious concerns about public safety and digital security. According to Foyez Ahmed Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, millions of fake and duplicate IMEI numbers are currently active across the country’s mobile networks.

In a verified Facebook post on the evening of Friday, 2 January, Tayyab highlighted that numerous fraudulent IMEIs—such as “1111111111111”, “0000000000000”, and “9999999999999”—are in widespread use. At present, these numbers are not being blocked, as the government has no intention of implementing any measures that would cause inconvenience to everyday users.

He explained that millions of people are using substandard counterfeit phones, many of which have never undergone safety testing, including radiation tests or assessments of their Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). These devices are widely operational across all four mobile operators in the country. Instead of immediate deactivation, these phones will be tagged as “grey” devices to facilitate monitoring.

Over the past decade, a single IMEI number, “99999999999999,” has been linked to 391,225,534 unique combinations of document IDs, MSISDNs, and IMEIs. These numbers are not only associated with smartphones but can also appear in various IoT devices. Currently, mobile operators cannot distinguish between phones, SIM-linked devices, and IoT devices with the same IMEI, though efforts have begun to tag legally imported IoT devices separately.

A breakdown of the top duplicate IMEIs reveals an alarming concentration of active devices:

Tayyab remarked that while the presence of clone phones was previously suspected, the scale is far more severe than initially understood. Citing a 2024 report from Bangladesh Bank, he noted that 73% of digital fraud occurs on unregistered devices. Additionally, data from BTRC and Mobile Financial Service providers indicate that in 2023, 85% of e-KYC fraud involved illegal or reprogrammed handsets.

The year also saw 180,000 reported phone thefts, with the actual figure likely being several hundred thousand. Most stolen devices have yet to be recovered.

Tayyab emphasised the urgent need to curb the unprecedented fraud involving counterfeit and clone phones marketed as new devices, warning that continued inaction could exacerbate both security risks and digital financial crimes.