U.S. Government Wants to Track Prepaid Phones

[M in LA]

Read more: US lawmakers target pre-paid cellphone anonymity - Yahoo! News

US lawmakers target pre-paid cellphone anonymity

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US lawmakers unveiled a bill Wednesday to enable law enforcement to identify users of pre-paid cell phones, charging that anonymity makes the devices attractive to terrorists, ____ kingpins and gangs.

The legislation would require buyers of pre-paid cell phones to show identification when they purchase them and mandate that telephone companies keep the information on file as they do with subscription cell phones.

"This proposal is overdue because for years terrorists, ____ kingpins and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones that are hard to trace," said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.

Schumer noted that the alleged Times Square bomb plotter, Faisal Shahzad, had used a pre-paid cell phone that can often be "a dead end for law enforcement."

"While most Americans use pre-paid mobile devices lawfully, the anonymous nature of these devices gives too much cover to individuals looking to use them for deviant, dangerous means," said Republican Senator John Cornyn.

Pre-paid cell phones can typically be bought with cash and activated without signing a contract or facing a credit check.

[strunke]

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They will just buy them outside the country. And fake ID's are rampant.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yeah, if your dealing with the mafia or illicit substances, you probably already have fake ID's good enough to fake out a wal-mart clerk.

[RadioRaiders]

I'm kind of surprised that you can still buy a pre-paid cellphone in the US without an ID. In the EU, most countries started requiring an ID to buy one soon after the 2001 terrorist attack on the WTC.

True, you can still use a fake ID, or buy one on ebay without one, but at least it's some kind of tracking. Police can separate the legit buyers from the non-legit ones, and at least have a starting point to work with (ie: did the same fake ID buy 100 SIM cards? Where did the fake ID come from? etc.)

[Simon5282]

So because a few do not use phones lawfully, the government HAS to keep track of everyone. I say

Radio Raiders, I understand the logic in most countries with having to produce ID, but I think that more than half of Americans do not trust the Federal Government to do what they say. I think it is just an excuse to monitor us. They already have way to much power.

Sorry if this is a bit to political for this forum. If it is please delete this post and forgive me.

[M in LA]

So because a few do not use phones lawfully, the government HAS to keep track of everyone. I say

Radio Raiders, I understand the logic in most countries with having to produce ID, but I think that more than half of Americans do not trust the Federal Government to do what they say. I think it is just an excuse to monitor us. They already have way to much power.

Sorry if this is a bit to political for this forum. If it is please delete this post and forgive me.

Your comment is borderline, though NOT worthy of deletion.

Just a reminder, keep politics out of this (as difficult as it might be).

That said, we (Mods) will be monitoring your every move in this thread! Big Brother (and Sister) are watching you...

[Simon5282]

Your comment is borderline, though NOT worthy of deletion.

Just a reminder, keep politics out of this (as difficult as it might be).

That said, we (Mods) will be monitoring your every move in this thread! Big Brother (and Sister) are watching you...

Yea, it is kind of hard to keep politics out of threads that talk about government regulation and cell phones.

The Merriam-Webster definition for politics is, "a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government."

Government regulation and politics are the same. But I try to follow rules, (and test them)

[strunke]

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As someone who does work in an area that this would have an affect on....albeit a positive one.... I'm not sure this will work in the long run the crooks will find a way around it and it smacks little bit too much of big government, although that seems popular in some circles today. Most criminals worth tracking have the resources to do a lot more then just make fake IDs. However it will keep the petty criminals at bay which would make my job easier....

[spleck]

If they can't buy a cell phone, they'll just steal cell phones or clone SIMs and make the public suffer. Random people will get arrested or harassed because the registry says they made an illegal call.