Anonymous cell phone activation
[QUOTE=NewbForBewb; 1372370]It was posted and I will confirm that if you buy a super cheap phone in a box from Walmart (and card if not included) you can activate it from home and none of your personal information will be recorded, unless you give it to them. But this is really a side issue. Unless YOU were to call a provider and have an illegal conversation you have nothing to worry about. The tapping is not of the mongers phone, it is of the providers. If they happen to catch your number from calling in to a provider, with taps in place, they'll know what was said, clearly, so you only need to worry about your personal phonecall. They can't charge you for getting a massage or asking about one at a massage parlor.
For those with signifigant others or high visibility positions, this type of throwaway phone is absolutely critical, because they CAN haul you in for questioning, essentially for any damn thing they want. That being said though, if they broadened the "dragnet" to include your phone, they could always track your location off the towers, if they were really that motivated. A court order for a wiretap is good enough to get them into the phone company for their assistance. At that point it would just be a matter of determining if the language in the warrant for wiretap was braod enough to include tracking location, and that I cannot comment to.
When dealing with this "human trafficking" issue, LE will shoot first and ask questions later. It makes great headlines so they would rather overstep and get the glory than understep and get the constitution. Another gentleman suggested only dealing with who you know until this blows over. Considering the risks involved, and your personal situation, that sounds prudent.[/QUOTE]Actually you can activate a new pay-as-you-go phone right from the new phone itself. No personally identifying information is required. Just the serial number and the number of the "minutes" card. I do it all the time! Don't reload it; just get a new one when the minutes run out. Change the area code AND phone number. Truly difficult to know who you are although you can still be tracked if the battery is left in the phone, even while it is off. I take my battery out unless I am using it to make a call. No incoming calls are accepted, except for immediate call backs, for obvious reasons.
General Politeness Guidelines
In keeping with the general guidelines, I will not flame the pest who has risen from the dungpile once again. I'm sure this analogy will ring somebody's bell. After continuous editing by Jackson, this a*hole still has not comprehended the purpose of our little community.
I don't understand what is driving this behavior, other than the possibility that he was abused as a child, which wasn't all that long ago, it seems.
Echoing the general consensus of this board, GO THE FUCK AWAY! (Sorry for using all caps, but I in fact, was yelling) If you can't accept a properly written post, with current intel, you just don't get it and probably never will.
I know this will cause retaliation, but I'm a grown man, and have learned not to suffer fools. Please take the above suggestion and run with it. It will make many of us happier.
Okay Bench, he's all yours.
GTR
Activating pre-paid phones
[QUOTE=Elibom;1372507]Actually you can activate a new pay-as-you-go phone right from the new phone itself. No personally identifying information is required. Just the serial number and the number of the "minutes" card. I do it all the time! Don't reload it; just get a new one when the minutes run out. Change the area code AND phone number. Truly difficult to know who you are although you can still be tracked if the battery is left in the phone, even while it is off. I take my battery out unless I am using it to make a call. No incoming calls are accepted, except for immediate call backs, for obvious reasons.[/QUOTE]I have found that you cannot activate a pre-paid phone from the phone itself. I have activated several from a few different providers, and have always been instructed to call from another phone to activate.
I just go to the mall. Most still have pay phones available.
ATnT asked for specific information, but you could say anything.
I prefer Tr@kPh0ne. I am never short on minutes, and only have to buy more to extend the expiration date. No per-call charges like some others. Texts are 1/3 of a minute. And they only asked for a zip code when activating. They may have asked for more, but specifically give you the option to skip those questions.
As someone suggested below, pay for it in cash at BB or T@rget, and buy all minute cards with cash as well. No way to trace it back to you.
And here's another pro-tip to add to Elibom's. Try to find a model with the same manufacturer of your regular cell phone. The charger might work for both.
Some comments on another board suggest people don't get burners because they are afraid the SO will find it. I think the calls from your own phone are more dangerous than the possible discovery of a second phone* If she finds your burner, you can just say you found it in a parking lot, and was holding on to it in case the owner tries to call it. You can't call someone from the phone to track them down, because it's locked. Of course, you have locked this phone.
*In light of recent developments with local agencies, I would be much more worried had I been someone who contacted them with my own phone, instead of someone calling from an untraceable burner.
Activating a Burner Phone
[QUOTE=ShaferShark; 1373154]I have found that you cannot activate a pre-paid phone from the phone itself. I have activated several from a few different providers, and have always been instructed to call from another phone to activate.
I just go to the mall. Most still have pay phones available.
ATnT asked for specific information, but you could say anything.
I prefer Tr@kPh0ne. I am never short on minutes, and only have to buy more to extend the expiration date. No per-call charges like some others. Texts are 1/3 of a minute. And they only asked for a zip code when activating. They may have asked for more, but specifically give you the option to skip those questions.
As someone suggested below, pay for it in cash at BB or T@rget, and buy all minute cards with cash as well. No way to trace it back to you.
And here's another pro-tip to add to Elibom's. Try to find a model with the same manufacturer of your regular cell phone. The charger might work for both.
Some comments on another board suggest people don't get burners because they are afraid the SO will find it. I think the calls from your own phone are more dangerous than the possible discovery of a second phone* If she finds your burner, you can just say you found it in a parking lot, and was holding on to it in case the owner tries to call it. You can't call someone from the phone to track them down, because it's locked. Of course, you have locked this phone.
*In light of recent developments with local agencies, I would be much more worried had I been someone who contacted them with my own phone, instead of someone calling from an untraceable burner.[/QUOTE]For $9. 99 at wal-mart I got a basic Tr@kPh0ne That included a home charger, car charger and a case. I paid $19 for a time card that gave me a bunch of minutes and time. When I entered my zip code (activated online from the public library) of where I was going to use the most often. It gave me a phone number from that area code (I gave them an out state zip code). I made a generic account with a yahoo email address and all it good. It is just a basic phone and works great.
