1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: Vogelbon Here. You may hear about them on the news 3 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: or in a movie with the suspect used a burner 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: phone to contact the family after the kidnapping, or you 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,599 Speaker 1: might have seen them at a convenience store. Burner phones 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: are cheap phones that come with pre paid minutes. These 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: are simple devices that tend to resemble old flip phones, 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: though they often have touchscreens and smartphone features as well. 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: These burner phones come preloaded with a certain amount of 10 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: call minutes or text messages, which can also be reloaded 11 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: when exhausted. For the article, this episode is based on 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Spoke via email with Shanel Agarwal, a 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: cyber expert who currently serves as a CCO for the 14 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: software and web development company tech Ahead. He said people 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: who want to remain private were anonymous for a variety 16 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: of reasons, such as journalists, activists, or people engaging in 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: illegal activities frequently use them. Other common users include those 18 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: who want to keep their identity a secret. This can 19 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,119 Speaker 1: be great if, for example, a person trying to get 20 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: out of a bad home situation doesn't want their texts 21 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 1: or calls to be monitored by volatile members of the household, 22 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,279 Speaker 1: but on a larger scale. Even if you pay cash 23 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: for the phone and the minutes, it doesn't mean that 24 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: you're totally incognito to the powers that be. A cell 25 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: phones can be easily tracked and mined for data by 26 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: app developers, third party advertisers, and even local governments. In 27 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: the United States, the legislative acts such as the Foreign 28 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: Intelligence Surveillance Act and the infamous Patriot Act have given 29 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: the federal and state governments great power when it comes 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: to tracking and retrieving wireless communications. Ostensibly, these laws concerned 31 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: matters of national security, but they've been used as a 32 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,639 Speaker 1: pretense numerous times by law enforcement to surveil the lives 33 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: of ordinary citizens. In most cases, the acies invoking these 34 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: acts aren't even required to obtain a formal search warrant. 35 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: Some activist groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union 36 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: or ACLU, consider this to be a violation of the 37 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which protects against unreasonable search 38 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: and seizure. More recently, law enforcement agencies have added a 39 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: tool known as the stingray to their arsenal. These devices 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: have been suspected to be deployed during mass protests, including 41 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in twenty twenty. The stingray 42 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: is essentially a small temporary cell tower that inserts itself 43 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: as a bottleneck between mobile phones and their networks. If 44 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: you're in range of a stingray, then your phone will 45 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: automatically connect to it as if it were a legitimate tower. 46 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: You'll be able to use mobile data as normal, but 47 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: things like calls, text messages, and passwords may be covertly 48 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: intercepted by the party but controls the antenna. Private companies 49 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: can also declare open season on your mobile data. Given 50 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: some smartphone apps some permissions to access things like your location, 51 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: contact list, or microphone shady developers can then turn around 52 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: and sell this data to advertisers and government entities as 53 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: an underhanded way of making extra money. All that being said, 54 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: burners do have their advantages. Normal cell phones usually require 55 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: a carrier wireless plan, which comes with a contract that's 56 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: tied to the user's legal name. This means any data 57 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: scraped from your phone can easily be tied to your identity. 58 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: Burner phones add an extra layer of protection because they 59 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: can usually be purchased with cash and with no contract required. 60 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: Agarwall said burner phones can be beneficial for keeping privacy 61 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: and anonymity in certain situations, such as when dealing with 62 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: sources as a journalist, or while going to a new 63 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: country where local simcards may be necessary. To make sure 64 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: that their anonymity and privacy continues, users of these phones 65 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: will often disconnect or burn the dive after a certain 66 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: amount of time, or even throw it away. If anonymous 67 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: calls are still needed, they'll replace the phone with a 68 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: new prepaid number. If a third party happens to be 69 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: scraping the device for data, then this method ensures that 70 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: their information stream will end when the phone is burned. 71 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: Burner phones offer the strength of anonymity upon purchase, but 72 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: otherwise they possess the same weaknesses as other phones. Agarwal said. 73 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: While burner phones offer a higher level of anonymity compared 74 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: to regular phones, they're not completely untraceable. Burner phones can 75 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: be traced by law enforcement agencies using various methods such 76 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: as call detail records, location tracking, surveillance, and stingray devices. 77 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: But furthermore, if a third party has recordings of your 78 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: calls and texts, it's possible that they could identify you 79 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: using contextual information or simply by the sound of your voice. 80 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: Law enforcement agencies also possess voice recognition technology that can 81 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: assist in matching a voice to its source. It's because 82 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: of these ever present surveillance methods that burning the phone 83 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: every so often is important to staying anonymous. Agarwal said. 84 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: These methods can reveal information regarding calls made and received 85 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: by the burner phone, such as the time of day, 86 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: the length of time, and the location. Law enforcement authorities 87 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: have had some success in determining the identities of people 88 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: using burner phones in several instances. Of course, if you 89 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: log into your Facebook or TikTok account from your burner phone, 90 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: or buy some goods from Amazon, that will certainly blow 91 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: your cover. But burner phones are just one type of 92 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: gadget that can be used to boost your cybersecurity. They 93 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: aren't infallible, and they're best employed in conjunction with other methods, 94 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,119 Speaker 1: Agarwal said. For instance, encrypted messaging applications like Signal offer 95 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: end to end encryption, which means that the only people 96 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: who can read the messages are the sender and the recipient, 97 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,799 Speaker 1: not even the app providers. Themselves can access the information. 98 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: In addition, making use of a virtual private network often 99 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: known as a VPN can assist in preventing the parties 100 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: from tracking your location data as well as the online 101 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: activities that you participate in. Piling methods of data abstraction 102 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: on top of each other will go a long way 103 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: toward maintaining anonymity. Still, it's important to remember that none 104 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: of them are perfect. At the end of the day, 105 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: data can be tracked, the best encryption has the potential 106 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: to be broken, and the only one hundred percent secure 107 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: form of communication is face to face conversation with someone 108 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: you trust. Today's episode is based on the article are 109 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: burner phones really Untraceable? On how stuffworks dot com? Written 110 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: by Talenthomer. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership 111 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. 112 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, 113 00:06:47,320 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.