Members of high-profile criminal syndicates equip themselves with modern technological gadgets, this time with counterfeit, foreign mobile phones that can change their voices while calling other people, police said Saturday.

A brand of fake China mobile phones now circulates in the "black market" which has a "voice scrambler feature" or a feature that can alter the caller's voice, Manila Police District (MPD) Station 11 commander, Supt. Nelson Yabut disclosed Saturday.

Yabut said the voice scrambler is reportedly a feature of the fake E series Nokia cellphone allegedly smuggled from China.

The official noted that the caller, using voice scrambler, could not be easily recognized by the recipient of the call because the voice was already scrambled.“Kahit lalaki ang tumatawag puwedeng mag-boses babae at hindi talaga makikilala,” Yabut said.

To prove his claims, Yabut even demonstrated the fake phone by calling this reporter using the phone but with a woman's voice.

The official said the caller can choose at least six voices including the voice of a woman, an old woman, a man, and old man and two others. “It poses danger and attraction to the criminals. At pwede rin itong gamitin this coming election,” Yabut warned, saying that it could be used by other criminal elements for their illegal transactions.

The MPD operatives admitted that the phone is already circulating in the country as it is now coordinating with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to conduct inspection and raid against the fake mobile phones. “Posible talagang magamit ng criminal ito, it is susceptible to abuse so dapat ngayon pa lang kontrolin na ito,” Yabut added.

The official said that they uncovered the cellphone feature when a friend of his who was reportedly a victim of prankster, complained about the voice scrambler. When checked, they confirmed the veracity of the report as the fake phone was already out in the market.

Meanwhile, the official also suggested to the NTC that SIM cards of cellphones must be registered for easy identification of users.