6 ms·

Just who are burner phones for anyway?

8 points by tosseraccount 11y ago

PaulHoule 11y ago
What about people who are affluent because they save $190 a month by using a Tracfone instead of a iPhone? They might be able to fund an IRA or afford a down payment for a house, or pay off their student loans or something.
- coreyp_1 11y ago
  Not disagreeing with your post, but does it really cost $190/mo for an iPhone?!?
  - lowken10 11y ago
    My wife paid $203/month for ATT service before I switched her to Cricket. Now we pay $35/month. Same phone same network...
  - draker 11y ago
    You can make any plan expensive regardless of type of phone; it all depends on your monthly data allotment, how often you want to upgrade your phone and additional services/features. An AT&T 15gb plan with unlimited calls/texts is $115/month. Next 12 (upgrade every 12 months) you pay like $40-45/month for an iPhone 6s. They recommend insurance which is another $8-11/month. Tethering adds $50-65/month.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  Does TracPhone really save you that much? I have a 4 line $150/month plan with T-Mobile that gives each line 10GB/data/month, and split it with 3 other people. My cost for my line is only $37/month, and I use all of that data.
  - chmielewski 11y ago
    I own a candybar TracPhone from 2005. It's still in service. If it were in daily use, it would be MUCH more expensive than my Android.
socket0 11y ago
The end result of such a ban would be to punish legitimate users (those mentioned in the article, like tourists and the poor). It would do absolutely nothing against criminals who can persuade anyone desperate enough for money to buy a burner in their own name. You want drugs? The price just went up by cash plus a cheap phone.
otterley 11y ago
Many countries have required ID to establish service for prepaid mobile phone accounts for years. It definitely makes the signup process slower and less convenient for international travelers, but the documentation requirement is not especially burdensome either, since you're mostly likely going to have your passport with you anyway. The people who will likely suffer the most are those on the fringes of society who aren't carrying foreign passports or government-issued IDs, and, yes, criminals. But not legitimate international travelers.
jschwartzi 11y ago
If the ID requirements are tight enough, I could see people stealing identities to buy phones.

8 points by tosseraccount 11y ago

What about people who are affluent because they save $190 a month by using a Tracfone instead of a iPhone? They might be able to fund an IRA or afford a down payment for a house, or pay off their student loans or something.

coreyp_1 11y ago
Not disagreeing with your post, but does it really cost $190/mo for an iPhone?!?
- lowken10 11y ago
  My wife paid $203/month for ATT service before I switched her to Cricket. Now we pay $35/month. Same phone same network...
- draker 11y ago
  You can make any plan expensive regardless of type of phone; it all depends on your monthly data allotment, how often you want to upgrade your phone and additional services/features. An AT&T 15gb plan with unlimited calls/texts is $115/month. Next 12 (upgrade every 12 months) you pay like $40-45/month for an iPhone 6s. They recommend insurance which is another $8-11/month. Tethering adds $50-65/month.
toomuchtodo 11y ago
Does TracPhone really save you that much? I have a 4 line $150/month plan with T-Mobile that gives each line 10GB/data/month, and split it with 3 other people. My cost for my line is only $37/month, and I use all of that data.
- chmielewski 11y ago
  I own a candybar TracPhone from 2005. It's still in service. If it were in daily use, it would be MUCH more expensive than my Android.

socket0 11y ago

The end result of such a ban would be to punish legitimate users (those mentioned in the article, like tourists and the poor). It would do absolutely nothing against criminals who can persuade anyone desperate enough for money to buy a burner in their own name. You want drugs? The price just went up by cash plus a cheap phone.

otterley 11y ago

Many countries have required ID to establish service for prepaid mobile phone accounts for years. It definitely makes the signup process slower and less convenient for international travelers, but the documentation requirement is not especially burdensome either, since you're mostly likely going to have your passport with you anyway. The people who will likely suffer the most are those on the fringes of society who aren't carrying foreign passports or government-issued IDs, and, yes, criminals. But not legitimate international travelers.

jschwartzi 11y ago

If the ID requirements are tight enough, I could see people stealing identities to buy phones.