Fake Cellphone Towers Found Intercepting Calls All Over The US

[AndThenThereWas1]

Multiple cell phone interceptors were found throughout the US by a company specializing in cell phone security. The towers are by-passing the phone encryption to gain access to calls and/or texts. It is currently unknown who owns and operates the interceptors, but according to the article, it may be the US military.

 

 

Seventeen fake cellphone towers were discovered across the U.S. last week, according to a report in Popular Science.

Rather than offering you cellphone service, the towers appear to be connecting to nearby phones, bypassing their encryption, and either tapping calls or reading texts. 

Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, used ESD's CryptoPhone 500 to detect 17 bogus cellphone towers. ESD is a leading American defense and law enforcement technology provider based in Las Vegas.

One of our customers took a road trip from Florida to North Carolina and he found eight different interceptors on that trip. We even found one at South Point Casino in Las Vegas.”

 

“What we find suspicious is that a lot of these interceptors are right on top of U.S. military bases.  So we begin to wonder – are some of them U.S. government interceptors?  Or are some of them Chinese interceptors?” says Goldsmith.  “Whose interceptor is it?  Who are they, that's listening to calls around military bases?  Is it just the U.S. military, or are they foreign governments doing it?  The point is: we don't really know whose they are.”

 

 

ComputerWorld points out that the fake towers give themselves away by crushing down the performance of your phone from 4G to 2G while the intercept is taking place. So if you see your phone operating on a slow download signal while you're near a military base ... maybe make that call from somewhere else.

 

Tower locations:

 

I suspect that they really are operated by the US government. Frankly, it no longer surprises me how little regard the US government has for our constitutional rights. The 4th amendment is clearly being violated when they bypass cell phone security to gain access to you texts/calls.

 

Update:

I found some more info regarding the use of interceptors in the US:

 

In a historic 9–0 decision on Riley v. California, the Supreme Court offered one of the most stirring defenses of the Fourth Amendment in years. The immediate issue was cellphone searches: police now clearly, unambiguously need a warrant to search your cellphone. The contents of your phone, like the contents of your house and your car, are now protected from warrantless search.  source

So, i have no doubt that these interceptors are a violation to the 4th amendment.

 

Here are the last few lines of the supreme court's opinion on Riley v. California:

 

Modern cell phones are not just another technological convenience. With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans “the privacies of life,” Boyd, supra, at 630. The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought. Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple— get a warrant.

We reverse the judgment of the California Court of Appeal in No. 13–132 and remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. We affirm the judgment of the First Circuit in No. 13–212.

It is so ordered.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-132_8l9c.pdf

Its an interesting read if anyone wants to look further into it.

 

According to Ars Technica, in August the FCC said they will be investigating interceptor use in the US.

 

 

The Federal Communications Commission said it will investigate the “illicit and unauthorized use” of cell phone tracking and interception devices, commonly known as IMSI catchers or stingrays.

A newly published letter from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) states that Wheeler has created a task force that recently took “immediate steps to combat the illicit and unauthorized use of IMSI catchers. The mission of this task force is to develop concrete solutions to protect the cellular networks systemically from similar unlawful intrusions and interceptions.” source

 

Sources:

http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/mysterious-phony-cell-towers-could-be-intercepting-your-calls

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mysterious-fake-cellphone-towers-intercepting-162645809.html

[TheSLSAMG]

Excuse me? Why the fuck has this been allowed to happen?

[Guest]

Good thing I live nowhere near any of them

[Clyne]

So that's why my phone has been slow recently. 

[Deletive]

Oh I smell NSA.

So glad canada doesn't have these things. Wind service is crappy as it is.

[totjup5]

Fantastic, two in my state, one near my city.

[bob345]

i find it very hard to believe that it is unknown who they belong too

[Bob]

I would like to find out what secret judge allowed this.

[AlwaysFSX]

Lol, of course Ft. Bliss has one.

 

Great...

[Spongy141]

This is not okay

[Tech_Dreamer]

USA is like a Virtual prison with brainwashed prisioners to think & live like they are in disney land..

[Trik'Stari]

Excuse me? Why the fuck has this been allowed to happen?

Really? You see a president on stage saying "we have no strategy for dealing with ISIS" and you ask how this happened?

 

Welcome to the fall ladies and gent's, best keep yourself and your loved ones close at hand this next week or so. I know I am.

[suicidalfranco]

Excuse me? Why the fuck has this been allowed to happen?

Because the people voted to let it happen... I mean it his a democracy and the power goes to the people therefore the people allowed it I believe, or am I wrong somewhere?

[Aniallation]

Meanwhile NSA sits back and dunks their donuts in their coffee having a great time

[Trik'Stari]

Because the people voted to let it happen... I mean it his a democracy and the power goes to the people therefore the people allowed it I believe, or am I wrong somewhere?

Can't vote on something started in a secret court that noone has access to.

[Jodomcfrodo]

Really? You see a president on stage saying "we have no strategy for dealing with ISIS" and you ask how this happened?

 

Welcome to the fall ladies and gent's, best keep yourself and your loved ones close at hand this next week or so. I know I am.

This ISIS thing needs to stop. Just bomb the hell out of them and kill everything. I don't care that you may kill the US citizens. They are dead anyway is we keep this up. For the kids and innocent living there. I'm sorry, really sucks, but your people are sending the world into turmoil. We can't save you.

Obviously, if we can avoid this, I would rather do that. But ditching the idea as a whole isn't a good thing. 

 

About the cell phone thing, what did we expect. The government is out of control. 

[Jodomcfrodo]

Because the people voted to let it happen... I mean it his a democracy and the power goes to the people therefore the people allowed it I believe, or am I wrong somewhere?

Because if the elected officials told us they would do this, we would still vote them in. Voters didn't know this would happen.

[Priller]

Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, used ESD's CryptoPhone 500 to detect 17 bogus cellphone towers. ESD is a leading American defense and law enforcement technology provider based in Las Vegas.

 

Tower locations:

 

There are 20 listed on that map.

 

 

 

 

"One of our customers took a road trip from Florida to North Carolina and he found eight different interceptors on that trip. We even found one at South Point Casino in Las Vegas.”

 

 

There are only 3 listed in FL and NC combined. 

 

 

 

Something is off with this.

[Mcdoorknob]

I guess the abolition of America seems inevitable eventually. But I still see America as #1 

[Tech_Dreamer]

Because the people voted to let it happen... I mean it his a democracy and the power goes to the people therefore the people allowed it I believe, or am I wrong somewhere?

Yup & it's a vicious cycle...

[Trik'Stari]

This ISIS thing needs to stop. Just bomb the hell out of them and kill everything. I don't care that you may kill the US citizens. They are dead anyway is we keep this up. For the kids and innocent living there. I'm sorry, really sucks, but your people are sending the world into turmoil. We can't save you.

Obviously, if we can avoid this, I would rather do that. But ditching the idea as a whole isn't a good thing. 

 

About the cell phone thing, what did we expect. The government is out of control. 

3 words. Nuclear fuckin Weapons.

 

Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, used ESD's CryptoPhone 500 to detect 17 bogus cellphone towers. ESD is a leading American defense and law enforcement technology provider based in Las Vegas.

 

Tower locations:

-snip

 

There are 20 listed on that map.

 

 

 

 

"One of our customers took a road trip from Florida to North Carolina and he found eight different interceptors on that trip. We even found one at South Point Casino in Las Vegas.”

 

 

There are only 3 listed in FL and NC combined. 

 

 

 

Something is off with this.

No shit. There are several military bases in Virginia, not to mention other government agencies, and there's magically no "fake" towers in VA? bullshit.

[Jodomcfrodo]

3 words. Nuclear fuckin Weapons.

 

No shit. There are several military bases in Virginia, not to mention other government agencies, and there's magically no "fake" towers in VA? bullshit.

 

LETS NOT NUKE THEM.

 

Just bombs. Using nukes will set the stage for other countries to use them.

[Trik'Stari]

LETS NOT NUKE THEM.

 

Just bombs. Using nukes will set the stage for other countries to use them.

Fine if you wan't to be all inefficient about it. Not to mention that conventional bombing campaigns are ineffective on insurgencies.

[Suika]

Because the people voted to let it happen... I mean it his a democracy and the power goes to the people therefore the people allowed it I believe, or am I wrong somewhere?

It is a representative democracy, whose officials are elected by the electoral college, not the people.

You're actually quite a bit off, the power is not so much in the hands of the people.

[Jodomcfrodo]

Fine if you wan't to be all inefficient about it. Not to mention that conventional bombing campaigns are ineffective on insurgencies.

I don't want to drop a nuke. Just drop bombs on every damn town they are in.