Cell phone safety

[genius]

I don't think that they would come after the john's, seems like a lot of wasted time unless they were looking for more info bc of a specific reason. Seems like a huge waste of time and resources to track the john's that were on the phone list but nothing is impossible.

For $15 for the phone and $20 (or so) every 3 months I use a piece of crap Tracfone that I pay cash for phone and minutes. Do it - and your worries about this kinda stuff just go away. Plus you don't get any "Haven't seen you in a while calls" when you are with your SO because you keep the phone turned off in your car trunk or at work.

One other problem that you guys don't mention - wannna bet that LE paid a visit to everyone that the murdered call girls (the ones they found in the dunes a while back by Jones Beach) had called ?

All this goes away with a burner phone.

 

[LIHOG]

And that is why you are the genius ! - I too have wondered where they are gone to and would like to know what happened ?

 

[prospekt1]

For $15 for the phone and $20 (or so) every 3 months I use a piece of crap Tracfone that I pay cash for phone and minutes. Do it - and your worries about this kinda stuff just go away. Plus you don't get any "Haven't seen you in a while calls" when you are with your SO because you keep the phone turned off in your car trunk or at work.

One other problem that you guys don't mention - wannna bet that LE paid a visit to everyone that the murdered call girls (the ones they found in the dunes a while back by Jones Beach) had called ?

All this goes away with a burner phone.

I have adapted to your method. Do you think others should take the battery out while at home and should only have their phone on while away from home? Wanna make sure others have all the bases covered if they go this route, its like the last step I believe in this process.

I agree with what you said but only think they would pay a visit if something like that happened. If they busted the girls for their profession then I don't think they would come knocking.

 

[mrwarpo]

Even the burner phones have a unique hardware identifier to allow them on the network (IMEI)-
it will be on a barcode on the actual phone. To get cell service you also have a unique ID on the SIM card.

Even with cell GPS location turned off - the network provider (which really is only att,verizon,tmobile,and sprint)
can tie the phone usage to a specific geographic area in a specific time.

If you still have the cell in your possession - it could be checked against those records.

On the plus side- it is not very easy to get these detailed records from the networks-
and it is still not proof enough that you actually had the phone - it could have been used or loaned.

Chances are there would have to be a very good reason to expend resources to get to
that detailed level - so something else big would need to be involved.

 

[genius]

Chances are there would have to be a very good reason to expend resources to get to
that detailed level - so something else big would need to be involved.

Exactly - and I doubt that would be to track down Johns who called an escort to set up an appointment. However, if talking major crime like murder or major drug deal - that's another story and good police work would require tracking down and interviewing all the callers and all those called, e.g., "Why did you call this number on June 3rd at 6pm and where were you from 6:30 to 12pm of that night?"

Even the burner phones have a unique hardware identifier to allow them on the network (IMEI)-
it will be on a barcode on the actual phone. To get cell service you also have a unique ID on the SIM card.

Even with cell GPS location turned off - the network provider (which really is only att,verizon,tmobile,and sprint)
can tie the phone usage to a specific geographic area in a specific time..

No where near as accurately as GPS.

If you still have the cell in your possession - it could be checked against those records...

Even you had in in your possession and they found the phone during a search of your car (say you picked up a hooker or as what happened to me where I committed the crime of "Driving while being white in Wyandanch") they would still need a warrant to search your phone (June 25th, 2014 US Supreme Court )

On the plus side- it is not very easy to get these detailed records from the networks-
and it is still not proof enough that you actually had the phone - it could have been used or loaned....

Or found on the side of the road - I'm a lucky guy and find things often.

 

[prospekt1]

Can you disable GPS on a burner phone? I don't think there is an option on those flip phones.

 

[mrwarpo]

It depends on the phone.

Most burner phones don't have a GPS radio.

Any mid-range phone will usually let you specifically disable location services (ie turn on/off the GPS radio).

The highend phones give you full control over how the location data is used.

But this won't stop a rough estimate of any phone position being determined because of the way cell service works.

Even on burner phones without a GPS radio- the location can be determined to some degree of accuracy from the cell phone tower logs but this is not an easy or cheap process for anyone involved.

 

[humblehustler]

Lol too much though being put into this.

 

[mrwarpo]

Better safe than sorry- a burner phone is a must have.

There have been cases where someone got tagged by geo-location
because they used a burner but did not turn off their real phone.

 

[genius]

Lol too much though being put into this.

Last couple of posts probably should be put into a new thread (perhaps "Burner Phones" or some such)-moderator?
The issue is nothing to take lightly - the escort business is a dangerous trade for both the buyer and the seller. If a girl ends up dead the cops absolutely will follow up on every call from and to her phone. They don't need her phone for that - just her #and they can get from via several methods.

 

[nyc_sw_monger]

I went by a fast house today that I had not been to in months. The guy at the door ask me to call the fast house number and just my luck my burner phone was dead. Shit!!! I told him my phone was dead, so he asked for my # and checked his phone book to verify I had been there before. Thank god I always use a burner phone. So if cops get their hands on his phone they can't get my contact info from the phone company.

Always use a burner!!!!

 

[prospekt1]

Better safe than sorry- a burner phone is a must have.

There have been cases where someone got tagged by geo-location
because they used a burner but did not turn off their real phone.

A little confused. How does their real phone relate to the burner phone in geo-location? If the burner phone is off and battery out, how does the real phone come into play?

 

[mrwarpo]

Most high end "real" phones need geo-location to use many apps -
like google maps, uber and many others that request access to your location.

Even if you chat on a burner and turn it off - if you don't completely turn off
the real phone as well- your real phone still gives out the co-ordinates to
these apps- and also web tools like Android Device manager and find my iphone.

For true privacy you can't forget what is happening on the real phone while
you may be in a location that you don't want to share.

All of this can be turned off- but you have to mess around with it.

 

[genius]

I went by a fast house today that I had not been to in months. The guy at the door ask me to call the fast house number and just my luck my burner phone was dead. Shit!!! I told him my phone was dead, so he asked for my # and checked his phone book to verify I had been there before. Thank god I always use a burner phone. So if cops get their hands on his phone they can't get my contact info from the phone company.

Always use a burner!!!!

You remember your burner phone #?
Since I never call my burner number I don't remember mine (up to now anyway - sounds like a good thing to remember) . Even when someone wants my #(or I want them to have my #), they just ask me to hand them my phone and they use it to call their phone. When their phone gets called they enter it into contacts and put in my mongering first name (not genius of course - or perhaps some code indicating I've been screened). The reason I use a mongering name is if my SO or anyone else gets my phone, like LE, and someone calls it they (hopefully) will ask for that name thus help in justifying my claim that I found it. I may be paranoid but that doesn't me people aren't out to get me.

 

[genius]

Last couple of posts probably should be put into a new thread (perhaps "Burner Phones" or some such)-moderator?.....

I thank you moderator for moving the post into a new thread.

 

[genius]

Last couple of posts probably should be put into a new thread (perhaps "Burner Phones" or some such)-moderator?.....

I thank you moderator for moving the post into a new thread.

Most high end "real" phones need geo-location to use many apps -
like google maps, uber and many others that request access to your location.

Even if you chat on a burner and turn it off - if you don't completely turn off
the real phone as well- your real phone still gives out the co-ordinates to
these apps- and also web tools like Android Device manager and find my iphone.

For true privacy you can't forget what is happening on the real phone while
you may be in a location that you don't want to share.

All of this can be turned off- but you have to mess around with it.

Are you saying that your "real" phone is being tracked and the location data recorded whenever it is on? Given the amount of phones out there, that seems like a outrageous amount of data storage requirements on the part of the phone service provider - and to what end would they want to provide all that data storage for that kind of info? I can understand why they might want to record the GPS info when you make a call - but why record every location whenever the phone is on?

 

[genius]

Ok worst case scenario is they were busted and Feds are setting up indictments on all who participated with cell records.....I bet some of you just shite your pants. Well so far no knock on my door.....yet. It is weird considering they had like three spots just in the Jericho turnpike/little neck area alone, not including the places in Astoria and Brooklyn.
........ Anyway if a knock does come to my door....I have no idea what they talking about, I was at that pizza joint on the corner.

Given the amount of surveillance cameras around (just look around wherever you are - they are everywhere) I don't think it is a good idea to lie about something that can be proven as a lie. My approach is to always tell the truth - but supply useless info, (this actually happened to me when I was searched by LE after a traffic stop under suspicion of "driving thru Wyandanch while being white" )
LE: So what are these for? (pointing to condoms he pulled out of my pocket).
Me: I use them to prevent disease.
LE: Are you driving around looking for prostitutes?
Me: Prostitution is against the law.
End of questioning by LE when I guess he realized I wasn't stupid enough to incriminate myself or to say something that could be verified as untrue.

 

[mrwarpo]

I do the same thing.

You don't want your burner number to be saved on a real phone or web saved contacts.

You remember your burner phone #?
Since I never call my burner number I don't remember mine (up to now anyway - sounds like a good thing to remember) . Even when someone wants my #(or I want them to have my #), they just ask me to hand them my phone and they use it to call their phone. When their phone gets called they enter it into contacts and put in my mongering first name (not genius of course - or perhaps some code indicating I've been screened). The reason I use a mongering name is if my SO or anyone else gets my phone, like LE, and someone calls it they (hopefully) will ask for that name thus help in justifying my claim that I found it. I may be paranoid but that doesn't me people aren't out to get me.

 

[mrwarpo]

I don't want to sound like I prefer tin foil hats - but the tower data is just the surface. You have to pretty much assume that everything going through a telco wirelessly is scanned or archived.

The data volume is peanuts compared to sheer size and depth of many companies user data. Disk and cpu are so cheap that the scale of what can be collected has gone up exponentially.

It all goes back to the cost/value of targeting people for relatively minor issues.

I thank you moderator for moving the post into a new thread.

Are you saying that your "real" phone is being tracked and the location data recorded whenever it is on? Given the amount of phones out there, that seems like a outrageous amount of data storage requirements on the part of the phone service provider - and to what end would they want to provide all that data storage for that kind of info? I can understand why they might want to record the GPS info when you make a call - but why record every location whenever the phone is on?

 

[popeye363]

I thank you moderator for moving the post into a new thread.

Are you saying that your "real" phone is being tracked and the location data recorded whenever it is on? Given the amount of phones out there, that seems like a outrageous amount of data storage requirements on the part of the phone service provider - and to what end would they want to provide all that data storage for that kind of info? I can understand why they might want to record the GPS info when you make a call - but why record every location whenever the phone is on?

Leaving aside the sense I get that the phrase "real phone" is being used in a confusing way in this thread...

Disk storage is pretty much a commodity these days. No other aspect of computer hardware, with the possible exception of graphics chips, has increased in capacity while decreasing in price as much as disk storage.

About 25 years ago, I worked on a database computer system called Teradata (since acquired, then spun off, by NCR). The "Tera" reflected that system's the then unheard-of capacity of a trillion bytes of storage. I'm not sure they ever sold a machine that big. Now, we can buy a device that fits in a coat pocket, holds three terabytes of data, and costs less than a Benjamin. AT&T and Verizon don't worry about the cost of recording your calling details; printing and mailing your bill costs a thousand times more than that.

Why would a phone company want to collect and keep all of this stuff? Because it's worth its weight in gold. With clever analysis, this data can tell you things you don't know about yourself. It can predict when and where you'll buy your next car, with greater certainty than your SO could. This data can be sold, and resold many times over.

Imagine: marry cell phone records of your location with browsing records from your computer with credit card records from your bank, and someone can tell what makes and models of cars you considered, which showrooms you visited, and of course how much you proved willing to spend. If you sold cars, and had access to distilled browsing records to know what competing cars your prospective customer has considered, you could easily use that to manipulate the conversation.

This is what Big Data is all about. A recent episode of 60 Minutes (rerun) said about 1200 companies are in the business of buying, massaging, collating and selling this data. Who sells it to them? Verizon, DMV, JPMorgan Chase (when they're not just leaving it on the table for the taking), yada, yada.