Looking for Map of Cell Phone Purchases

self | August 11, 2006 | madison10

[madison10]

Has any one made a map, or done any tracking, of cities/towns the cell phones are being purchased? or of where the suspects are being picked up?

Thanks.

[Cindy]

MAY 9, 2007

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070509/NEWS01/705090421/1002

Police Report

ANGOLA —

“Six Verizon Wireless stores broken into”

SNIPPET: “CENTREVILLE, Md. (AP) — Six stores selling Verizon Wireless phones have been broken into recently and storeowners are taking proactive steps to protect their stores in Easton, Cambridge, Centreville and Denton, police said.

Easton police said they have a suspect identified but they don’t know why Verizon stores were being targeted.

Easton Detective Sgt. George Paugh said the suspects travel together from store to store and throw a heavy object through the front door. Then he said they enter the store stealing cell phones, digital cameras, Bluetooth kits and other items. Police said some of the break-ins didn’t involve any thefts. Police said at least $8,000 in products have been stolen.”

[Cindy]

PAKISTAN

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=51584

Friday, May 11, 2007, Rabi-us-sani 23, 1428 A.H.

“PTA, CPLC anti-cell phone theft system
Need to train police for drive’s success”

By Imran Ayub
Karachi

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Growing concerns against street crime pushed the authorities to move in this regard. There has been a marked rise in the theft of mobile phones, particularly in Karachi, and there are fears that the stolen phones end up in markets across the city where they are resold.

Some telecom experts say that the market for stolen phones, sold as “reconditioned models” is larger than that of new phones in the city. The figures compiled by the provincial institution suggest that a total of 44,388 cell phones were snatched or stolen in 2006 only. Such thefts and snatchings were recorded at 27,764 in 2005, suggesting a 60 per cent increase in a single year.

However, the PTA claims the system designed to curb the crime would give better results by the year end. “So far, approximately 40,000 mobile handsets have been made dysfunctional during the last five months of the IMEI system launch,” said the quarterly report.

At this, there are some who say that the phones made dysfunctional are easily reused after some re-engineering at local shops in the city. The report has said that PTA and CPLC offices in Karachi had been registering three hundred complaints daily since the launch of the IMEI system in October 2006 for the blockage of snatched and stolen mobile phones.

“The response of the public and related organisations is quite encouraging,” said the PTA, adding that its regional office in Karachi had been declared as the central body of the network formed for the purpose of coordinated efforts in implementing the IMEI programme.

The PTA claims, however, need to be seen in a more realistic perspective. More than four thousand cell phones were taken away in the city during February 2007 alone, according to official data.

The data released by local police authorities marked Gulshan-e-Iqbal as a hotspot for criminals, where managed to snatch 243 sets one month. Despite the lower than expected results, the Karachi metropolis remains the only city across Pakistan which possesses an anti cell phone theft system, and the telecom regrets so far no other city appears interested in devising such a policy to discourage cell phone snatching.

“Except CPLC at Karachi, no other law enforcement agency in the rest of the country, like CPLC is other cities and Police 15 etc. is currently accepting complaints,” added the PTA report.”

[Cindy]

http://news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wn&q=prepaid+%2B+phones&btnG=Search

[Cindy]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/20/texas_wiretap_laws/

“Texas Senate waves through cell phone wiretapping bill
Harder to buy pre-paid cell phones, easier to bug”
By John Leyden ?
Published Friday 20th April 2007 17:38 GMT

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Wiretaps authorised by the proposed laws could be used to authorise the tracking of suspect’s mobile, land line and online activities in multiple locations; unlike current laws which are location specific.

The draft Homeland Security legislation also places tighter controls on the sale of prepaid phones. Retailers will be asked to keep records of customers in a move that means prepaid phones can no longer be bought over the counter without ID. Customers will have to supply their name and address, date of birth or Social Security number, while sales would be limited to five prepaid cell phones at a time.

Police in Texas were also given the legislative go-ahead to use CCTV footage at toll booths to prosecute crime.

Sen. John Carona, the architect of the bill, argued that the legislation would help police to fight organised crime and terrorism in the state.”

[HiTech RedNeck]

From the time of activation, or otherwise randomly, telemarketers should be furnished the numbers of the phones. If the phone could be called at any time then bomb makers would be thrown off their timing.

All these precautions go down the tubes however if the bomb makers are willing to perish with their bombs. Then any old cell phone will do: “Hello, Ahmed! Push the button!” “Yes sir, Allah here I come!”

[Cindy]

(Note: As an aside, let’s run the keyword Georgia — looking to see if there’s any articles of interest regarding Georgia — as in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=georgia
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1853295/posts )

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THANKS to Kyla Starr for the ping to these posts:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843491/posts?page=1081#1081

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1855080/posts

Excerpt below is from the external link on the FR thread:

Russians with 105 pre-paid cell phones draw attention of police

>>Charges filed in Monterey; Homeland Security contacted

Two Russians arrested in Monterey last week in possession of 105 pre-paid cell phones may have been the same pair who attempted to purchase the inventory of cell phones at a Crossville business earlier in the month.

Stanislav Legkunets, 19, of Belleville, MI, and Konstantine Mkbitarian, 47, of Romulus, MI, were taken into custody by Monterey Police after an incident at the local Family Dollar Store on E. Commercial Ave. in Monterey. The two told authorities they are natives of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

According to receipts found inside the vehicle, the 105 cell phones had been purchased at various locations in Kentucky and Tennessee. In addition to the phones, police also found a Dell laptop computer and $6,000 in cash.

The TBI and city detectives were notified of the local incident.

So far, there has been no response or comment from Homeland Security officials.<<

1,081 posted on 06/23/2007 10:43:32 AM PDT by KylaStarr

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843491/posts?page=1084#1084

To clarify my above post...

The Monterey mentioned in the news article is Monterey Tennessee. Monterey TN is located about halfway between Nashville and Knoxville.

Seems to me there’s been other activity down in this area of TN but I can’t recall if any of it was related to these cell phones.

1,084 posted on 06/23/2007 12:36:34 PM PDT by KylaStarr

[Cindy]

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=purchase+%2B+TracFones+&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&tab=nb&ie=UTF-8&q=purchase+%2B+TracFones&scoring=d

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Thanks to Velveeta for this post:

QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1875105/posts?page=501#501

Phone sales trigger suspicions, again (WI)
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070806/OSH/308060048/1987

501 posted on 08/06/2007 8:33:47 PM PDT by Velveeta

[Cindy]

blogs:

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/11/concerns_about_mobile_phone_sm.php

“Concerns about Mobile Phone Smuggling”
By Aaron Mannes
(November 28, 2007)

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/11/28/Cellphoneslide/terrorist-slideshow-9.jpg

#

http://terrorwonk.blogspot.com/2007/11/concerns-about-mobile-phone-smuggling.html

“WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007
Concerns about Mobile Phone Smuggling”

http://bp2.blogger.com/_DqjCKp-6zuU/R04vgq50jnI/AAAAAAAAAAg/g8GZAMn9znM/s1600-h/terrorist-slideshow-9.jpg

[Cindy]

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/13/Hillsborough/Tip_leads_to_arrests_.shtml

“Tip leads to arrests, recovery of goods”

By RODNEY THRASH, Times Staff Writer
Published January 13, 2008

TAMPA -

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Two suspects told the tipster they had stolen a trailer last month from a Days Inn on N Dale Mabry Highway, police said. They wanted him to take the contents of the trailer - 42 boxes of cell phone repeaters valued at $187,000 - to a junk yard. Instead, the man led police to the Regency Palms Apartments, 4123 E Linebaugh Ave.

Inside unit No. 904, officers said they found the boxes of repeaters, which enhance cell phone reception in buildings where the quality is poor. Tampa police also recovered three guns, $7,600 in counterfeit cash and one vehicle.

Two men, Hector Felician-Pizzaro and Lazaro Raul Fernandez, were in police custody Saturday.”

[Cindy]

Thanks to Freeper Oorang.

POST SNIPPET - QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963607/posts?page=521#521

Police check out reports of suspicious purchases (Ohio)
2/12/08
PORTAGE TOWNSHIP — The sheriff’s office questioned two Russian men Sunday who told a deputy they bought more than 200 prepaid cell phones over the weekend from area stores.

Neither was charged with a crime, but the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Cleveland of the incident, according to a sheriff’s office report. The men, who have lived in the United States for at least five years, told the deputy they bought the Tracfones from stores in the Port Clinton and Sandusky areas to resell to a businessman, according to the report. The businessman, whose name or location they did not provide, then would sell the phones on eBay, they told Deputy George Byington.

Prepaid cell phones have been linked to terrorist activity in the past, causing store officials to consider the men’s behavior suspicious. Some stores have limits on the number of prepaid cell phones customers can buy at one time.

Excerpted

http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/BC/20080212/NEWS01/802120303/1002

521 posted on 02/12/2008 2:53:48 PM PST by Oorang (Tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people - Alex Kozinski)

[Cindy]

http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/02/registering-prepaid-cell-phone/

“Registering Pre-paid Cell Phones – A Matter of Security”
By Jay Fraser on February 10, 2008 at 7:43 PM

[Cindy]

Thanks to MamaDearest for pointing to this article:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1963607/posts?page=1225#1225

#

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sfl-0226theftofcellphones,0,3840578.story

“Davie police seek 2 men in theft of $11,000 worth of cell phones”
By Macollvie Jean-François | Sun-Sentinel.com
6:05 PM EST, February 26, 2008

Davie -

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “In less than 20 minutes, they took 50 to 60 cell phones valued at $11,000.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 or Davie police at 954-693-8200.”

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Note: Davie Police Department press release with suspect photos included.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/acrobat/2008-02/36106713.pdf

[Cindy]

Thanks to txflake for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045502/posts

Weird Pre-Paid cellphone story (vanity)
7/14/08 | self
Posted on July 14, 2008 5:59:07 PM PDT by WoofDog123

Over the years I have read stories on FR about reports of muslim males buying huge numbers of pre-paid cell phones, often triggering calls to law enforcement. While I don’t generally discount reports from local media outlets (remember the OU bombing?), it seems crazy that this would be going on with nary a peep from other sources. Here is my odd story about this.

~3 months ago I was in New Orleans, and purchased a prepaid cell phone at a story on Royal street almost at canal (quarter-side). The store proprietors were obviously muslim, don’t know if pak. or arab. While the salesman was very helpful, and I paid (cash) and got my cards and phone, I then asked another 40’ish employee some questions, which he totally and completely ignored - no eye-contact, nothing. He did talk to and answer questions to a latino (in accented and somewhat broken spanish, which I am fluent in) with no apparent issue. Note that I am white (anglo-american, whatever) and clearly from the US by speech.

I then asked him more questions, such as why he ignored me, which he continued to do. I then told the original salesperson that I would like to know why this person would not speak to me. He made an apology and said other people had made the same complaint. I told him that if they did not already have my money (cash) I would certainly have walked out (it is a fact that I needed a phone immediately and would have been pressed to find the time to argue or call the police (the NOPD, mind you, though they would possibly look out for an apparent tourist in the quarter) for a refund, since the phone cards I had bought had already been loaded into the phone by the ignoring-me employee, while he ignored me.)

Then, after leaving the store, I began using the phone, and realized from the call history it had been used 3 times previously, *6 months before*, in oct 07, to 3 different numbers, 3 different area codes (one was miami, one i think was nyc, don’t remember the other but geographically distributed), and then not used again.

This made me remember the stories about masses of these phones being bought up by muslim groups of men. What if they are being used as one-time numbers, then reboxed and sold via such outlets?

[txhurl]

mail - now

[Cindy]

http://kob.com/kobtvimages/cell_phonethefts.jpg

http://kob.com/article/stories/S482121.shtml?cat=519

Posted at: 06/18/2008 04:10:02 PM
Updated at: 06/18/2008 04:14:02 PM
By: Eyewitness News 4

“Police make arrests in cell phone theft ring”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Adam Benavidez was arrested for breaking into T-Mobile stores throughout the metro area.

Police say the suspects would turn around and sell the phones on the street.

Benavidez was picked up Monday, after authorities say Steven Murphy and Anthony Padilla implicated him and other individuals in the theft ring.

Police are also looking for at least three other individuals connected to the crime.”

[Cindy]

Thanks to Happy Grl for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140961/posts

“U.S. Warned India in October of Potential Terror Attack - NSA Now Tracking Captured Phones.....”
ABC News ^
Posted on December 1, 2008 11:35:52 AM PST by Sub-Driver

[Cindy]

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6368013

“U.S. Warned India in October of Potential Terror Attack
NSA Now Tracking Captured Phones, U.S. Connections”
By RICHARD ESPOSITO, BRIAN ROSS and PIERRE THOMAS
December 1, 2008

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Since Friday, U.S. intelligence agencies have been tracking the phones and SIM cards recovered by Indian authorities from the Mumbai terrorists leading to a “treasure trove” of leads in Pakistan and several possible connections to the United States, officials say.

Officials say one of the cell phone SIM cards may have been purchased in the United States but would not provide any more details because of the ongoing nature of the investigation.

The phones also include the same Thuraya satellite phone intercepted in November by the Indian spy agency RAW, the Research and Analysis Wing, which runs an extensive electronic intercept operation.

NSA, the National Security Agency, has the technical means to retrieve all calls made from satellite and cell phones in the south Asia region.

Officials say one of the phones recovered was a Thuraya satellite phone.

“Once we have the number we will be able to know everyone who was called and where the calls were made from,” one former intelligence office says.”

[Cindy]

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705268674,00.html

“Cell phones, ChapStick stolen from UPS boxes”
Published: Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008 12:40 a.m. MST

WEST VALLEY CITY —

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Three employees later admitted to West Valley City police they had stolen a total of 16 phones over the past few months and sold them, charges state. One of the employees said he also stole small items including ChapStick, soap and lotion and acted as lookout while another of the trio would open packages and steal phones.

Two of the employees, ages 18 and 20, are each charged with one count of theft — a third-degree felony. The third partner is being charged separately.”

[Cindy]

http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x43170562/UPS-driver-charged-with-cell-phone-theft

“UPS driver charged with cell phone theft”

By Edward B. Colby/Daily News staff
Daily News Transcript
Posted Dec 03, 2008 @ 11:55 PM

DEDHAM —

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Nedder said UPS or a representative saw UPS truck driver Victor Lemos, 42, of 149 Walnut St., East Providence, R.I., behind the Registry of Deeds in Dedham giving something to a man later identified as Gennady Avras, 47, of 320 Dudley Road, Newton.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “In all, police recovered stolen property valued at $2,900, including wireless routers and a number of cell phones.”