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Russians with 105 pre-paid cell phones...
Crossville Chronicle, Crossville, TN ^ | Friday, June 22, 2007

Posted on 06/23/2007 7:49:59 AM PDT by Bronzy

http://www.crossville-chronicle.com/local/local_story_172234222.html Russians with 105 pre-paid cell phones draw attention of police. This story caught my attention. What is with all the bulk cell phone buyers?


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2007chevroletimpala; cellphones; chevroletimpala; crossville; cumberlandplaza; dollarstore; familydollarstore; georgia; impala; kentucky; ky; legkunets; mkbitarian; monterey; prepaidcellphones; prepaidphones; russians; tennessee; tn; tracfones; tracphones; virginia
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1 posted on 06/23/2007 7:50:00 AM PDT by Bronzy
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To: Bronzy

They can be used to explode bombs.


2 posted on 06/23/2007 7:51:45 AM PDT by hershey
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To: Bronzy

Buy low. Sell high.

Simple, eh?


3 posted on 06/23/2007 7:52:27 AM PDT by Glenn (Free Venezuela!)
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To: Bronzy
Similar story from last summer:

FBI Interested in Large Prepaid Cell Phone Purchases

4 posted on 06/23/2007 7:53:28 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: martin_fierro

Dude’s belt must look like yers. ;)


5 posted on 06/23/2007 7:54:27 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Bronzy

They are being sold below cost here in the U.S. where the sellers recoup their expenses with air-time fees. Elsewhere in the world the phones get reprogrammed to work on other networks that have a far lower cost per minute, but the phones there are sold at cost — much greater than here. It is only a matter of buying a cheap phone here, reprogramming it, and selling it there for a profit. The Costco in Anchorage, Alaska gets visited by Russians coming across the Bering Strait to do that.


6 posted on 06/23/2007 7:57:31 AM PDT by Sundog (It's a good day for a catharsis.)
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To: Bronzy

I’m not big on limits on individual liberty, but I think pre paid cells have created problems in many areas; terrorists, ordinary criminals, drug dealers, run of the mill harrassers. Maybe it’s time to either eliminate them of create a way to track and I D them and their owners.


7 posted on 06/23/2007 7:58:48 AM PDT by xkaydet65
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To: Glenn
The simplest explanation, that I recieved from a friend who operates a few small cell-phone stores is precisely that . . . he has a number of "vendors" who show up and sell him those phones in bulk. As long as he is convinced that they're not stolen, he stockpiles them until they are sold. (Sometimes even to another "arbitrager" with a van).

But yes, they can be used as detonators.

8 posted on 06/23/2007 7:59:01 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Cindy

Ping


9 posted on 06/23/2007 8:02:40 AM PDT by good old days
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To: hershey
They can be used to explode bombs.
What I've heard is that prepaids are good for anybody worried about wiretaps. By the time somebody get's a warrant to tap you you're done with the phone and you can toss it. You can also switch phones easily making yourself harder to trace.

Perfect for things like drug dealing.
10 posted on 06/23/2007 8:09:12 AM PDT by ketsu
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To: ketsu

Pre-paids are also good for people who can’t afford otherwise.


11 posted on 06/23/2007 8:10:33 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: ketsu

Hmm, you’re right.


12 posted on 06/23/2007 8:13:44 AM PDT by hershey
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To: Bronzy

Criminal activity.

Sellers of prepaid cell service (like my Tracfone) apparently do not keep records of calling activity.

I found this out when my cellphone went missing. After making what I thought was a thorough search in my office space and at my home, I called customer service to see if someone had found it and was using it (intending to turn it off if that was the case). That was when I was informed by the service representative that they didn’t track call activity. I just had the choice to turn it off or not. I decided to search some more and ultimately I found it at the very bottom of an interior pocket of my laptop case. I had “searched” the case previously. (Note to self: when you think you have thoroughly search something, that a break, then search it again.)

I’m not sure if there is a TOTAL lack of traceability in these cellphone systems or if it is just not available very easily. I suppose, with sufficient reason, you could poll network nodes to see where a telephone was located and when. Since telephone call activity is logged by the telephone company primarily for the purpose of billing charges, in a prepaid system this would be an unnecessary activity once the system had validated your telephone number and the fact that you had paid airtime on the phone.


13 posted on 06/23/2007 8:18:00 AM PDT by Captain Rhino ( Dollars spent in India help a friend; dollars spent in China arm an enemy.)
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To: Sundog

I appreciate all the thoughts from everyone. Guess money might be the motive. Still, I think the worse because my husband says that we are being invaded and they are just getting ready for the attack.


14 posted on 06/23/2007 8:26:08 AM PDT by Bronzy ( Vote Republican for smaller government and lower taxes... Really?)
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To: xkaydet65

Government solutions are usually worse that the original problem.

AND the government ‘fix’ is forever. Think Social Security, the income tax, the EPA, OSHA, gun control or any other of ten thousand government ‘solutions’.

BTW, did you know that the government ‘fix’ for Virgina Tech is to allow your doctor to put you on a ‘ can’t possess a gun” list? We all might really need that unregistered prepaid cell phone.


15 posted on 06/23/2007 8:29:23 AM PDT by Balding_Eagle (If America falls, darkness will cover the face of the earth for a thousand years.)
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To: Captain Rhino
Sellers of prepaid cell service (like my Tracfone) apparently do not keep records of calling activity.

That's because they are too busy spamming their customers.

I bought a Tracfone 2 years ago to try out. After registering, I started getting 2 emails, 2 cell calls, and 2 regular phone call every other day from TracFone.

I called several times to complain about the flood of 'new offers too good to miss'.

CS said it would take up to 10 days to remove me from their 'offers' listings. 2 months later, I was still getting spammed (that was after the cell phone expired, because I did not renew the minutes and let it lapse).

Finally during the 3rd month (still getting spammed), I went into my TracFone account and changed the regular phone number and email to dummy names. The spam finally ceased.
16 posted on 06/23/2007 8:37:10 AM PDT by TomGuy
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To: ketsu; hershey

Both right. Use once or for a short time and it can’t be traced, then used to detonate a bomb.


17 posted on 06/23/2007 8:41:46 AM PDT by Eagles6 (Dig deeper, more ammo.)
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To: TomGuy

“I bought a Tracfone 2 years ago to try out. After registering, I started getting 2 emails, 2 cell calls, and 2 regular phone call every other day from TracFone”

I use a tracfone (saving at least 40 bucks a month) and don’t get emails, the wife does though, ha, ha. I have never received a call from them either. Will have to ask the wife if she has.

The guys in texas were seperating the batteries from the phones. Can the batteries be used for meth?


18 posted on 06/23/2007 8:52:50 AM PDT by epaul
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To: TomGuy; epaul
Got to agree with epaul on this one.

Never have had any trouble at all from Tracfone during the three years I have had the cellphone. I do occasionally get a email from them. (I normally delete them without opening based on the subject line.) Absolutely no sales cellphone or telephone calls.

Maybe it is because I have always signed up for the one year activation. (Don’t use the thing enough to keep it activated through regular minute purchases.)

Have saved a lot of money over the Verizon cellphone I used to have. Particularly enjoy not having to figure out the #@*!ing cellphone bill each month.

19 posted on 06/23/2007 9:37:28 AM PDT by Captain Rhino ( Dollars spent in India help a friend; dollars spent in China arm an enemy.)
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To: Captain Rhino

“Untraceable” cell phones can be ‘tapped’.

Think about it.

You call a line the Feds have a tap on and they get your digit spill. They now have your telephone number. With that they can then (nontechnical term here) muckel onto that number and record any calls.

Finding the caller OTOH, quite dificult. So it would pay to switch phones often and never carry one that has been used for illegal activity.

Oh, and leave it off, so as not to be carrying a live bug/tracker. (http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html)


20 posted on 06/23/2007 9:39:54 AM PDT by ASOC (Yeah, well, maybe - but can you *prove* it?)
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