[Nguyen1]

I see this and read this a lot in thrillers - some spy wants to destroy his burner phone, a 9900 for instance, so he yanks out the battery, drops the phone and stomps on it. My question is, does that really destroy the phone, at least in terms of securing data on it?

Sure the screen and keyboard are kaput, but can't someone just get info back from the inboard memory anyway?

Also, in movies they always say these burner phones are untraceable. Well... why not?? They were purchased somewhere, they use Sim cards, they use network towers like any other phone.

Are these just movie conventions, or are there real life reasons why they are true?

Just a pet peeve...

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[anon(3732391)]

Your question is like asking if Santa Claus is real!

But, I'll give my best shot....
If it's a Documentary Than you can expect ,at least, some of it to be true.
If it's a movie "based on true events," It probably has nothing to do with the events in question. But, then maybe the events were changed to protect the guilty in which case , it probably still has nothing to do with the actually events.

And then, of course, a lot depends on the genre.
In general, they're all fiction, except for Sci-fi, which they want you to believe is just fantasy, but is as true as it gets.
Going as far back as the '50's and Buck Rodgers. That spaceship was made out of a toilet paper roll, covered with aluminum foil and the "flames" coming from the rear were from a sparkler. (The set is on permanent display at Universal Studios in LA) Anyway, today we have all kinds of space vehicles.
Star Trek in the 60's had, wireless communicator. We've just changed the name to mobile devices. They had ray guns. Now we call them lasers.
Lost In Space,in the 60's had Robbie The Robot. Today we have all kinds of robots.
Other shows of yesteryear had the ability to clone things. Today we have the ability to clone things, including people.
Back in the 80's 'The Exterminator" had robots that could evolve. Today, we have robots that are learning to evolve.
Back in the 90's the machines took over. Considering, we have actual robots that really can evolve, and taking into consideration how fast we're learning all this technology.. it may be only a few more years till we actually see the machines starting to take over.

As far as your original question??? I haven't got a clue. But, when you come up with an answer that satisfies you, You're probably right!

[Troy Tiscareno]

I see this and read this a lot in thrillers - some spy wants to destroy his burner phone, a 9900 for instance, so he yanks out the battery, drops the phone and stomps on it. My question is, does that really destroy the phone, at least in terms of securing data on it?

Sure the screen and keyboard are kaput, but can't someone just get info back from the inboard memory anyway?

Yes, but in real life, it's a question of resources. The FBI crime lab, investigating the murder of a public official, might spend the money to do that. Your local police, investigating a meth dealer, almost certainly don't have the money to do so.

Also, in movies they always say these burner phones are untraceable. Well... why not?? They were purchased somewhere, they use Sim cards, they use network towers like any other phone.

It's somewhat more difficult in the US, but you CAN buy phones for cash, and you CAN buy SIM cards with a given amount of minutes for cash. And a smart criminal would send in someone else to buy them, so that there would be neither security camera footage nor employee memories of the purchases, etc. Now in Europe, buying phones outright and buying SIMs separately is the norm, so it's very realistic there.

And, used properly, a burner phone would only be turned on at a certain time of day, in a location well away from any "activity" - you wouldn't carry it around turned on where you are creating a location record with the carrier, who can get a rough location based on cell tower triangulation but almost certainly have a much better location via aGPS.

[anon(9721108)]

There was some guy's interesting thread in here almost a year ago where he found a battered 9300 on the street. Keyboard mangled, frame split, etc. He actually took the time to order parts and get that thing looking and running perfect, parts of the motherboard, etc. I can't remember if he was able to see what was on it or not but that would be the most interesting aspect for most I bet.

"The 99's charms will tug at your heart. Nothing else ever approached such exquisite perfection"-idssteve

[anon(3732391)]

Yeah. I remember that post. It was from a kid who "accidently" dropped his device out of his pocket while traveling at 60MPH on a motorcycle.
His mom had just given it to him that day to replace the previous device he had destroyed.
He tried to put the broken phone back together so his mom wouldn't know.

[stevec66]

If I was a master criminal trying to destroy a burner phone just drop it in the river or lake let it rust to death. After stumping on it a couple of times, let the police go fishing.

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[anon(3732391)]

Yes, but in real life, it's a question of resources. The FBI crime lab, investigating the murder of a public official, might spend the money to do that. Your local police, investigating a meth dealer, almost certainly don't have the money to do so.

Troy,
You know how i love to have fun taking things literally. Normally, I might ask you your definition of "real life."
But, I'll spare you my twisted sense of humor and just comment on everyone's reply at once, keeping in mind that there "may" be a few that are stranger than I am (if that's possible)

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS IMPOSSIBLE. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FIGURING OUT HOW!



Actually ( i didn't want to just blurt it right out ) I was wondering if you had a bit more detailed info that could help me track down this guy investigating the Meth issue.
I'm asking for a friend!!

[Riddymon]

Unles something was wrong with the on-board storage after it was stepped on. I wouldn't see what not although that's integrated with the motherboard so would it be easy to recover the data? Probably not? Is the data irretrievable...don't think so. There's forensics people who specialize in retrieving data from what would be considered damaged storage media.

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