Tracking Cell Phones

Cell phones are much less secure than landline telephones. I have written a few articles on cell phones and by now you know that with the right technology your cell phone signal can be intercepted. What you may or may not know is that your phone can also be easily traced to within a few feet of where you are standing. The phone can be tracked in a few ways: cell phone trackers, through an app, and directly with the cell phone provider.

Two of the tracking options are limited to the phones on an individual cell phone plan – your family shared plan. You can access any telephone on the shared plan via different downloadable apps or directly with your cell phone provider.

Phone trackers work by mimicking a cellular phone tower which tricks the cell phone into connecting to the tracker which allows the tracker to send a signal to the phone and trace its location. The cell phone simply needs to be turned on to allow this to happen. The tracking devices vary in size and shape but most are small enough to be carried by hand or mounted in a car. The devices can only locate cell phones; they cannot hear any conversation made with it nor see any data contained on it.

Phone trackers help law enforcement and government agencies in a variety of ways including helping them find and capture dangerous criminals and aiding in search-and-rescue operations. This sort of new technology isn’t covered by our constitution but should they be included? Should finding someone in this manner be considered a violation of their rights? What are your thoughts?

~TeCHS