| Cellular phones are in schools, banks, malls, and | | | | cause a temporary loss of the screen display. |
| homes across the country. While cellular phones have | | | | While it won't endanger your life or harm your phone, |
| been an important technological advancement, they're | | | | cellular phone "cloning" will damage your bank account. |
| not without their drawbacks. | | | | A phone is cloned when someone steals its unique |
| Reliability is one of the most significant disadvantages | | | | electronic serial number and telephone number. This |
| of cellular phones. Many people have replaced their | | | | allows the thief to charge unauthorized calls to your |
| land-line home phones with cellular phones, but this | | | | account. If you think you have been a victim of |
| could prove problematic in a true emergency. If your | | | | cloning, contact your cellular phone carrier |
| house is on fire, dead batteries and weak signals are | | | | immediately. |
| the last things you should be worrying about. | | | | Subscriber fraud is similar to cloning and occurs when |
| Dropping your land-line service may seem like an easy | | | | a thief steals your personal information to sign up for |
| way to save a few dollars, but in most cases it's not | | | | a cellular phone account in your name. Once you've |
| worth the risk. | | | | discovered that you've been the victim of subscriber |
| Cell phones can also be easily damaged by improper | | | | fraud, it can be difficult to prove to your cellular |
| handling and storage. Non-repairable corrosion can | | | | phone carrier that you did not incur the charges. |
| result if you expose your cellular phone to water or | | | | Cellular phones are integral part of life for many |
| use wet hands to push the buttons. Exposing your | | | | individuals, but it's important to be aware of potential |
| cellular phone to excessive heat can damage the | | | | problems that may arise from their use. Like any |
| battery or internal components. Leaving your cell | | | | other modern electronic device, cellular phones are |
| phone in extremely cold temperatures could possibly | | | | not without their drawbacks. |