Following the launch of the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) in Bangladesh, a startling picture has emerged of widespread clone and counterfeit mobile devices across the country. According to Foyez Ahmad Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, millions of fraudulent and duplicate IMEI numbers are currently active on the nation’s mobile networks.
In a verified Facebook post on Friday night (2 January), Mr Tayyab revealed that numbers such as “1111111111111”, “0000000000000”, and “9999999999999” are being widely used. However, he clarified that these IMEIs are not being blocked at present, emphasising that the government will not take steps that could inconvenience ordinary users.
He warned that the proliferation of low-quality clone phones, many of which have never undergone radiation tests or Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) safety checks, poses a significant public health and security concern. All four major mobile operators in the country currently host such devices on their networks. Instead of immediate shutdown, these devices will be tagged as ‘grey’ to allow further monitoring.
Over the past decade, a single IMEI—“99999999999999”—has been linked to 39,122,534 different combinations of device identifiers, including Document ID, MSISDN, and IMEI numbers. These numbers are not only associated with smartphones but also various Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Mobile operators are currently unable to distinguish between phones, SIM-linked devices, and IoT devices, though efforts have begun to tag legally imported IoT devices separately.
The top duplicated IMEIs are particularly alarming, with over a million devices associated with a single number:
| IMEI Number | Approx. Number of Devices Active |
|---|---|
| 440015202000 | 1,949,000 |
| 35227301738634 | 1,758,000 |
| 35275101952326 | 1,250,000 |
| 0 | 586,000 |
Mr Tayyab acknowledged that while the prevalence of clone phones had long been suspected, the depth of the problem was previously underestimated. Citing a 2024 report by Bangladesh Bank, he noted that 73% of digital fraud in the country occurs via unregistered devices. Data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and mobile financial service providers also indicate that in 2023, 85% of e-KYC fraud involved illegal or reprogrammed handsets.
Furthermore, while 180,000 phone theft cases were officially reported in 2023, the real figure may be several times higher, as most stolen phones remain unrecovered. Mr Tayyab stressed the urgent need to curb the unprecedented scale of fraud involving the sale of counterfeit and clone devices masquerading as new phones.