Prepaid Calling Cards and Terrorism: Where Did All The ?Chatter? Go?

Does that necessarily mean that there are no terrorist communications happening, or does it simply mean that terrorists have found other effective ways to get their twisted plots across continents? The advent of prepaid calling cards and the proliferation of Voice over IP telephony have made mobile phones almost irrelevant.

In a case study, a prominent telecom company A discovered that several thousand dollars worth of phone time had been purchased using stolen credit cards. Despite extremely heavy security, this company still succumbed to the effective measures of people who were clearly bent on obtaining airtime. The subsequent tracking of IP's indicated that not only had the orders been placed using heavy IP masking, but that they originated from hacked computers and the traced ended in Lebanon. Careful analysis of the Call Records (CDR's) indicated that hundreds of phone calls had been made using the same prepaid account to a number of high threat countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, UAE, and a few European countries.

One of the more interesting points in investigating the originating phone numbers was that most of them were fake. With Internet technology, directing and redirecting calls from one IP to the next is as easy as looking it up on Google. Indeed, with VoIP you can easily have a local New York phone number literally anywhere in the world. The intent was to hide any and all trace of the conversations. The extent of this operation is unknown; however it is certain that companies that had lax security measures lost thousands of dollars. The chargeback's from the customers always hit the merchants. What is certain is that people are making phone calls to countries that harbor terrorists using stolen credit cards and high tech methods of masking the origin of their outgoing phone calls.

The FBI was duly notified and a subpoena issued for the CDR's. However it is not certain how much headway the FBI had into the case. Most telecom companies protect the identities of their clients and their CDR's be they peaceful citizens or hell bent terrorists. Unfortunately there is also no effective law that provides for timely gathering of much needed sensitive CDR's. Hence the answer to where has all the chatter gone can be answered using prepaid calling cards and VoIP protocols that have made it possible to completely mask phone conversations and take the chatter underground.

Gene Leshinsky EnkiTel Communications http://www.enkitel.com

EnkiTel Communications is a telecom marketing company specializing in prepaid dial around international phone plans. We are committed to the safe records of all of our customers and have excellent systems in place to prevent fraud.

Related News

The Battle for Mobile Phone Customers in Africa - BusinessWeek The Battle for Mobile Phone Customers in Africa BusinessWeek -May 13, 2008 With fixed line phone service expensive in many parts of Africa, many Africans use cell phones instead. Increasingly, cell phones are used to provide mobile... Why some rate Best Buy as a 'buy' - Minneapolis Star Tribune Why some rate Best Buy as a 'buy' Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN -9 hours ago By increasing market share of cell phone sales, Best Buy expects to drive up earnings and revenue in coming years. "We know that, long-term, the wireless ... More people depend solely on cell phones - San Francisco Chronicle KIMA CBS 29 More people depend solely on cell phones San Francisco Chronicle,  USA -May 14, 2008 "The mobile phone has certain inherent intrusive properties, but we've reached the point it's accepted. The gains you have from having it on you far ... 3 in 10 get all or most calls on cell phonesThe Associated Press Survey: A Third of Homes Use Only Cell PhonesAHN Look Ma (Bell) no wires: 30 percent of us shun phones with wiresKansas City Star Digitaltrends.com - Kansas City Business Journal all 230 news articles Now, snoop on your spouse via your cell phone - Sify Now, snoop on your spouse via your cell phone Sify, India -May 14, 2008 text message has been shown the door, thanks to the new service – which has now been introduced in Australia – that allows mobile phone users to locate ... Are cell phones ruining concert experience? - Boston Herald Are cell phones ruining concert experience? Boston Herald, United States -3 hours ago As more and more concertgoers fiddle with cell phone cameras and fidget with BlackBerries, some people say mobile technology is ruining the concert ... Annoying cell phone myths - CNET Crave Blog CNET Crave Blog Annoying cell phone myths CNET Crave Blog -8 hours ago Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end ... Google Reportedly to Manufacture its Own Mobile Phone - GameSHOUT Google Reportedly to Manufacture its Own Mobile Phone GameSHOUT -May 15, 2008 Reports are that Google has developed a prototype cell phone that could reach the consumer within a year. Google further is reported to be planning to offer ... Motorola's lead in US cell phone market in jeopardy - Chicago Tribune Motorola's lead in US cell phone market in jeopardy Chicago Tribune, United States -May 16, 2008 1 spot in US mobile phone sales this year, research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics said. Motorola's share of the US market fell to 25 percent in the first ... Sugar Land man found in contempt for altering prepaid devices ... - Houston Chronicle Sugar Land man found in contempt for altering prepaid devices ... Houston Chronicle, United States -1 hour ago By CINDY GEORGE A Sugar Land man's admission Friday in Houston federal court marks a milestone in the wireless industry's effort to curb prepaid cell phone... Ecrio's Revolutionary Cell Phone Applications Could Change How ... - Fast Company Ecrio's Revolutionary Cell Phone Applications Could Change How ... Fast Company -6 hours ago Much-hyped 3G cell-phone networks, which allow high-volume data transmission, were becoming common in Japan, making mobile providers there more receptive to ...