Scramble a cell number when phoning out?

dunkyd

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Mar 5, 2009
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I need to phone through some sensitive ( not illegal ) info to a reporter which could be life threatening if leaked.

I have a spare RICAed phone which is in my name , my normal cell and a landline.

Is it possible to remain anonymous somehow ?
 

Priapus

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I need to phone through some sensitive ( not illegal ) info to a reporter which could be life threatening if leaked.

I have a spare RICAed phone which is in my name , my normal cell and a landline.

Is it possible to remain anonymous somehow ?

Not like that, there isn't.
 

Deadmanza

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I need to phone through some sensitive ( not illegal ) info to a reporter which could be life threatening if leaked.

I have a spare RICAed phone which is in my name , my normal cell and a landline.

Is it possible to remain anonymous somehow ?

Not using that sim.

Just go buy a pre rica'd sim, or better yet go and phone from an internet cafe. Farish from where you live.
 

Pilgrim

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Do you have to phone it to him? Maybe record it and mail it using something like Tails
 

Pilgrim

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Not using that sim.

Just go buy a pre rica'd sim, or better yet go and phone from an internet cafe. Farish from where you live.

If you do get a pre rica'd sim DO NOT EVER put it in any phone you have ever had any of your ricad sims in. The network operators can track what sim was in what phone, as each phone has a unique id.

Buy a cheap cellphone cash from some 2nd hand shop.
 

FNfal

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Buy a R100 phone from a pakkie on the street complete with sim card is the only way short of spending several thousand rands .
 

cupcake

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I would go the Telkom phone box route myself just make sure it's in a area without CCTV. If you go the cellphone route drive away from your home or work place before you make the call because your location could be traced.
 

isie

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I need to phone through some sensitive ( not illegal ) info to a reporter which could be life threatening if leaked.

I have a spare RICAed phone which is in my name , my normal cell and a landline.

Is it possible to remain anonymous somehow ?

You just want to ID you number from appearing on their caller ID?
#31# then number you want to call and dial from cell (won't work on contract unless you have CLIR activated as an option)
*31* then number you want to call from landline
 

sajunky

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+1 to the last few respondents except the last one.
With reservation for using public phone. Remember that when you or the reporter is on the radar, they will record your voice signature, then they will search all networks for a match. In couple weeks they will know who you are.

The correct procedure is to get cheap phone/SIM as described above, buy airtime - all cash, then search the reporter's phone number on Telegram or Signal (or other secure messaging apps, but not WhatsApp, as reporter's WhatsApp account could be cloned), make an appointment in the pub of your choice using secure chat. You must be a known physical person to the reporter with your permanent contact number and address, otherwise your story has no chance to publish. Don't play anonymous to the reporter, it won't work.

When you finish your business, private sell or dispose the phone with SIM.
 
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skeptic_SA

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+1 to the last few respondents except the last one.
With reservation for using public phone. Remember that when you or the reporter is on the radar, they will record your voice signature, then they will search all networks for a match. In couple weeks they will know who you are.

The correct procedure is to get cheap phone/SIM as described above, buy airtime - all cash, then search the reporter's phone number on Telegram or Signal (or other secure messaging apps, but not WhatsApp, as reporter's WhatsApp account could be cloned), make an appointment in the pub (wearing sunglasses / hat and a fake mustache) of your choice using secure chat. You must be a known physical person to the reporter with your permanent contact number and address, otherwise your story has no chance to publish. Don't play anonymous to the reporter, it won't work.

When you finish your business, private sell or dispose the phone with SIM.

FTFY
 

pinball wizard

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I need to phone through some sensitive ( not illegal ) info to a reporter which could be life threatening if leaked.

I have a spare RICAed phone which is in my name , my normal cell and a landline.

Is it possible to remain anonymous somehow ?

Use an app called Signal. The reporter will need it as well. Secure phonecalls.

It's what snowden recommends, and what we use. Never had a problem yet.
 

dunkyd

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Thanks guys, will go through this all slowly. Hopefully post some good news if successful .
 

Dairyfarmer

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Come on! Do you think our government and networks have the "intelligence" to do track someone? Unless you or the reporter are very high profile, no one will bother. All this talk about tracking a phone call back to your house and using voice searches is CSI BS and belongs on TV. Why not phone the person and arrange a face to face meeting. Oh sorry I forgot that there is a satellite that can "zoom in" on your voice.
 
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TheMightyQuinn

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Come on! Do you think our government and networks have the "intelligence" to do track someone? Unless you or the reporter are very high profile, no one will bother. All this talk about tracking a phone call back to your house and using voice searches is CSI BS and belongs on TV. Why not phone the person and arrange a face to face meeting. Oh sorry I forgot that there is a satellite that can "zoom in" on your voice.

^ This. Couldn't have said it better myself.
 

Dairyfarmer

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It always amuses me, in this day and age, that movies/tv still perpetuate the "phone trace". Geeks in a small room tracing the route the call takes as it bounces across the USA from one side to the other, or the digits scrolling and stopping, one after the other, like a slot machine.

Also popular is myth about the phone still being traceable even if the battery is taken out. Wow we have some super capacity hidden micro batteries in our phones. Run your phone's GPS on a normal battery and see how it drains the battery. If I was a phone manufacturer and had the technology to have these micro high capacity batteries, don't you think I would license the tech for batteries the same size as a normal battery? Imagine a battery that lasts a month, or go big and run a house on a battery the size of a cereal box.
 

bar1

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How about getting an anonymous Skype account, and make the call from there?
 

Swa

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It always amuses me, in this day and age, that movies/tv still perpetuate the "phone trace". Geeks in a small room tracing the route the call takes as it bounces across the USA from one side to the other, or the digits scrolling and stopping, one after the other, like a slot machine.

Also popular is myth about the phone still being traceable even if the battery is taken out. Wow we have some super capacity hidden micro batteries in our phones. Run your phone's GPS on a normal battery and see how it drains the battery. If I was a phone manufacturer and had the technology to have these micro high capacity batteries, don't you think I would license the tech for batteries the same size as a normal battery? Imagine a battery that lasts a month, or go big and run a house on a battery the size of a cereal box.
Yeah this. Once saw a hard drive being casually opened on CSI. Don't know why people still believe all the crap they see on tv, like getting a clear hd face from a 10x10 pixel frame. If such tech existed someone would have made a killing by overtaking jpeg and mpeg.

If America couldn't even stop the 9/11 attacks and had no idea of them, apparently, then there's no chance SA can search for someone's voice on networks where they need a court order for the network to enable tapping a single line. To get back to the OP if they communicate with a journalist they would need to know their details in any case for a story to be published. We have laws in place to protect whistleblowers but people mistakenly believe there's anonymity. There is none in journalism.

So if it's a matter of there being no proof you made the call then a cheap phone with preregistered sim would be the choice. If it's a matter of it being untraceable for fear of your life then don't make the call because there's always a chance your details may be leaked.

PS: I'm surprised nobody here said that the notes used to pay for the phone and sim can be traced back. :p :D
 
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