Posted on 08/08/2006 10:13:27 AM PDT by Ready2go
FBI Interested in Large Prepaid Cell Phone Purchases Posted 8/3/2006 06:06 PM
Store clerks in Grafton say people have been coming into their stores and buying several phones at a time. Story by Sarah Kapis Email | Bio
Folks at the Dollar General in Grafton say in the past few days, several men have come into the store attempting to buy large numbers of prepaid phones. However, store policy only allows a customer to buy two phones at a time, in fact, they are locked away from the general public.
The clerks say after they were in the Dollar General, the men went to the Grafton Walmart to try to purchase more of the phones.
Grafton police found one man during a traffic stop. They say he had hundreds of prepaid phones in his car.
There is no word on what the men planned to do with the phones or why they bought so many, but the incident was later turned over to the FBI for an investigation.
The owner of Country Roads Communications says the allure of the prepaid phones is the freedom that come with them. However, the FBI is not ready to say that the phones are being used for illegal or criminal purposes.
"Prepaids are hard to track, so they're used alot for illegal operations," said Vince Cafazza.
"We are aware that there are a number of purchases throughout the state. Large purchases of trac phones. We are interested in the purchases because they are unusual," said Dan Caldwell, FBI special agent. "We also understand that a number of the larger stores in the area are aware of the purchases. We are not aware of any criminal activity associated with the purchases at this point."
Caldwell says if you notice someone trying to buy large quantities of these type of phones, you can contact your local police or the FBI.
Oh, I completely understand I do not want governmental intrusion in my life.
Should we confiscate everyone's guns because there is a potential they could be used in a crime?
Brady bunch is recruiting, you gonna join?
The reason I asked initially where Grafton is because there is town in Mass. with the same name, and I'd bet, because it's an English town name, there are more.
Little things like location help a lot in these things.
"Buy it at Walmart for $49.95 --> convert it, then sell it to one of those people for $75.00 --> profit. You make $50, and the person purchasing the phone saves $75 over buying it from Verizon."
And do you think that is really what these guys were planning to do?
The FBI can question them, and if that is their explanation, fine. However, I suggest you follow up to see 'the rest of the story'.
Nothing to see here...lets all move along.
Great summary and well put.
ROFL, that was a really gay response.
So far, we have 11 missing Egyptian "students," ostensibly here to study the history of Montana, Middle Eastern men caught with a hollowed-out van and large amounts of cash, and other men (Middle Eastern?) purchasing large quantities of pre-paid cell phones. Is something afoot? A large number of coordinated bombings in various cities, as opposed to one major strike somewhere? An effort to instill general panic and/or give the Dems a victory ("Bush didn't protect us" etc)?
"Just curious - what kind of activites have you reported? Do you work at a retail outlet?
"
Mostly stuff in my neighborhood, prowlers, etc. I'm sort of a one-man neighborhood watch. I'm home, working, most of the time, and my home office has a nice big window on the street.
However, one time I reported a guy hiding in bushes near the end of a runway at a regional airport. Didn't take long at all for the cops to get there. Turns out he was a homeless guy taking a dump. Pretty embarrassing for him, I'm guessing.
"Buying 100 prepaids in one transaction isn't something those at war with us would do."
Get your facts straight. They didn't try to buy 100 phones all at once.
Were the cell phone men the same ones with the hollowed out van?
Well, I don't know that I agree with you about the cell phones, but I should would love it if there were more people like you in our neighborhood...
I'm not seeing anything solid to tie the guy in the "Georian story" to this story -- I didn't spot any mention of Grafton in the articles posted. Perhaps I missed it ... or is there a different source?
"Someone might have a big group going camping . A company may want them to keep on hand for emergencies. If the prices are cheap enough, even at retail, they might want to resell them on eBay. "
If they're going camping, it's likely that there won't be cell service. A company can buy the things at wholesale. As for eBay, I just went there and checked. All the prepaid phones there are selling for less than they cost at Walmart.
Care to try again for a good reason to buy 100 prepaid cell phones at retail prices?
"So far, we have 11 missing Egyptian "students," ostensibly here to study the history of Montana, Middle Eastern men caught with a hollowed-out van and large amounts of cash, and other men (Middle Eastern?) purchasing large quantities of pre-paid cell phones. Is something afoot? A large number of coordinated bombings in various cities, as opposed to one major strike somewhere? An effort to instill general panic and/or give the Dems a victory ("Bush didn't protect us" etc)?"
And how many thousand others lurking in the USA we don't know about? A attack planned to go off in every city at the same time...just like the planes crashing into buildings at the same time?
"Well, I don't know that I agree with you about the cell phones, but I should would love it if there were more people like you in our neighborhood..."
Since I listen to a scanner most of the day, I hear an awful lot of calls to investigate suspicious persons. Most of these are reported by neighborhood busybodies like myself.
It's amazing what you see during the day when most people are off at work. There are an awful lot of cars cruising very slowly in residential neighborhoods, looking at houses. Some are legitimate, of course, but others are casing the joint. Fortunately, my neighborhood has lots of people who don't leave during the day, so burglaries are pretty much non-existent.
Obviously one can't investigate the things that one doesn't know about. But it's pretty lame logic to say that the FBI should therefore not investigate things that are suspicious. Not saying that's your position, but it is clearly the position of some on this thread.
Your comparison does bring one thing to mind, though.... It's likely that the 9-11 attacks would have been stopped had the FBI been allowed to coordinate its intel with other agencies. There were specific requests to do so, but I'm sure you've heard of Jamie Gorelick's famous "wall memo" that prevented this from happening.
How dare you ask such a question, you racist profiler! /sarc
Or WiFi hotspots.
Remember the effect the DC sniper had on the country? Everybody was looking over their shoulder. Simultaneous attacks in several cities, perhaps repeated at short intervals, would have the same effect. A Wal Mart here, a Starbucks there, an airport terminal, a crowded bus, Disneyland, a casino in Vegas . . .
"There are an awful lot of cars cruising very slowly in residential neighborhoods, looking at houses.
Or WiFi hotspots."
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