Cell phone companies try to hang up on black market traffickers

Tag: cell phone pc cable

Some of nation's leading cell phone companies are trying to hang up on black market traffickers.

They're suing hackers who've figured out how to alter the low-cost pay-as-you-go phones that are sold in some stores. High-tech thieves have been tweaking the software on thousands of the phones to allow free access from any cellular network, and selling them on the black market.

The cell phone companies say it's costing them tens of millions of dollars.

Technically, it's not illegal to unlock the software on your personal cell phone but the companies are going after people they say are siphoning away profits.

One such lawsuit resulted in a criminal conviction in Houston when a man disobeyed a court order by refusing to stop selling the phones.