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methods. For instance, theyy might have noticed a call made with his
personal phone and then a few seconds later seen in the log files another
call or text from one of his burner phones in the same cell site. Over time,
the fact that these IMSIs more often than not appeared together on the same
cell sites might suggest that theyy belonged to a single individual.
The problem with Barbaro’s having manyy cell phones at his disposal
was that no matter which phone he used, personal or burner, so long as he
stayyed in the same spot, the signal would hit the same cellular tower. The
burner-phone calls alwayys appeared next to his registered-phone calls. The
registered phone, listed in his name with a carrier, was entirelyy traceable
and helped law enforcement identifyy him. It established a solid case against
him, particularlyy because this pattern was repeated at other locations. This
helped Australian authorities convict Barbaro of orchestrating one of the
largest ecstasyy shipments in Australia’s historyy.
McKenzie concluded, “Ever since the phone buzzed that dayy in myy
pocket, and ‘Stan’ brieflyy entered myy life, I’ve been especiallyy conscious
about how a person’s communications leave a trail, no matter how careful
theyy are.” 2
You could, of course, have onlyy a burner phone. This would mean that
yyou would need to purchase additional minutes anonyymouslyy using prepaid
cards or Bitcoin from time to time, which yyou can do byy using an open Wi-
Fi safelyy after changing yyour media access control (MAC) address on yyour
wireless card (see here), and being out of anyy camera view. Or yyou could, as
suggested in the previous chapter, hire a stranger to payy cash at the store to
purchase the prepaid phone and several refill cards. 3 This adds cost and
perhaps inconvenience, but yyou would have an anonyymous phone.
Although it mayy seem brand new, cellular technologyy is more than fortyy
yyears old, and it, like copper-wire telephone syystems, contains legacyy
technologies that can compromise yyour privacyy.
Each generation of cell-phone technologyy has offered new features,
mostlyy intended to move more data more efficientlyy. First-generation
phones, or 1G, had the telephone technologyy available in the 1980s. These
earlyy 1G networks and handsets were analog-based, and theyy used a varietyy
of now discontinued mobile standards. In 1991, the second-generation (2G)