spyology

the shadow

Scam alert: so called anonymous SIM cards Scam alert: so called anonymous SIM cards

Anonymous SIM-cards: are they really anonymous?

On Internet anyone can find generous offers when it comes to anonymous SIMs. With just 25 euros you can quickly get a so-called "anonymous sim card", with 20 euro credit.

What vendors promise?

Well, the list of so called benefits of using an anonymous SIM is apparently quite long:

- Your own Western European number-currently accepts calls in 104 countries!
- Large size GSM900 standard SIM card with €20 of prepaid call time.
- Calls can be made and received worldwide (List of countries provided with order).
- No deposits.
- No ID.
- No applications.
- No monthly billing.
- Additional SIM cards are available from us in €20 blocks, [at time of initial purchase.] Additional roaming time can be purchased on-line at any time.
- No other fees - ever.

All mentioned are true. But not in these "benefits" consists the scam.

Recognize the standard features of a prepaid SIM? Because actually anonymous SIM cards are nothing more than prepaid SIMs purchased from countries that do not require an ID for purchase (Romania still part of them), and international roaming charges are relatively low. In general these SIMs are coming from Asian countries and some European countries, including Latvia.

The business has a relatively success only in countries where can not be purchased a prepaid SIM card without showing an ID. I am surprised (in a negative way) by reputable companies that make such scams. Endoacustica is one of them them, and I really feel sorry for them. Maybe in Italy you can not buy a prepay card without an ID, but this still remains a scam.

How anonymous are so called anonymous SIMs?

The short answer: not at all.

The extended answer: a prepaid SIM is anonymous only from the point of view of ordinary people, who can not find details about the SIM use, nowhere. A simple phone number will not lead to user identification unless they make serious mistakes, or if the user is not intended to protect his identity. If the phone number will be used for a sufficiently long period (months or even years), there is a possibility that the user's identity to be determined by using simple investigative techniques, which are readily available to every investigator.

But when law enforcement agencies will want to know the SIM card user identity, the situation changes radically: no hindrance. Whether using the network operator or interception systems, finding out the identity of any user of prepaid SIM is a matter of a few hours.

What things cannot hide an "anonymous" SIM?

- Can not hide phone location, and in the end of the day, the user identity. Can not stop cell phone tracking. The explanation is simple : to be able for communications, any SIM must authenticate the local GSM network , no matter the country that issued that SIM. This means that the SIM card will be permanently connected to the GSM network. The operator can quickly perform localization procedures (called GSM triangulation), at the request of law enforcement agencies. In urban areas, location tracking accuracy is 50 meters or less.
If the situation demands, the suspect can be identified and arrested based on location tracking.

- Can not hide voice calls, data traffic and SMS. Once the law enforcement agencies are paying attention to that particular phone number, the "anonymous" SIM card user will not be anonymous at all: they will know call list, SMS list, voice calls content, SMS text content, people use to communicate, they could make a profile of the target based on its habits and communication patterns etc. And all this only after a few days of using the "anonymous" SIM card.

Depending on interception system performance, law enforcement agencies will have access to various data: GPS location (more accurate than GSM location), phone book, GPRS data etc.

At this point you can draw your own conclusion : an anonymous SIM is not at all anonymous. The fact that the average person can not find information about the owner of the SIM card, does not make it anonymous. Let's face it: any "anonymous" SIM user only hope to remain anonymous for law enforcement agencies and not for anybody else.

Basically, selling prepaid SIM cards SIM pretending to be anonymous SIM cards is not just another online scam and is like selling a nanny cam as a spy cam.
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