Era of anonymous prepaid cell phones may end

Prepaid cell phones with plans that can be purchased with cash and sans identification have long been the communication medium of choice for criminals and such, and for obvious reasons. Without a known cell phone number to tie a crook to, getting a wiretap becomes almost impossible, and such villains can generally operate with complete impunity, gabbing away in plain sight with no one able to listen in.

And we’re not just talking about crack dealers. The convenience and anonymity of prepaid plans has reportedly even made them popular with Wall Street types engaging in insider trading activity. Naturally, terrorism is a major concern, too. The FBI says it found that the recent Times Square bomb scare was arranged through the use of a prepaid cell phone, as well.

Frustrated with this loophole, now lawmakers are looking to make prepaid cell phones considerably less anonymous, AFP reports. A bipartisan bill announced this week in the Senate would require prepaid cell phone buyers to provide ID before a purchase.

This is unlikely to sit well with many legitimate users of prepaid phones, who often don’t have the money for a regular, subscription-based, post-paid plan. Anonymity is prized by many prepaid users, whether they are using the phone to evade an abusive partner, to blow the whistle on dangerous working conditions, or simply to avoid telemarketers and political pollsters.

But Ars Technica notes that for many governments, the criminal risks of anonymous phone usage outweigh such concerns: Collecting registration date from prepaid customers is already required by at least nine of the 24 countries that belong to the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development. And several states have laws requiring papers when you buy a cell phone of any kind.

Will this legislation go federal? With few people stepping up to complain about the proposal, it certainly seems likely.

— Christopher Null is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

Via:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_wguy/20100528/tc_ytech_wguy/ytech_wguy_tc2314;_ylt=Au_EhSxtW89m.ec8pJ0EocIjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1b2l0bXBzBGFzc2V0A3l0ZWNoX3dndXkvMjAxMDA1MjgveXRlY2hfd2d1eV90Yz