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Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by jruohonen on Thursday October 26, 2023 @01:55AM (#38022126)
While these are pretty much traditional burner phone guidelines, they don't really work. For instance, when traveling in some countries, you have to e.g. give a copy of your passport when buying a SIM card.
Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by geraldhh on Thursday October 26, 2023 @02:40AM (#38022455)
most actually
Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by rcbdev on Thursday October 26, 2023 @02:51AM (#38022520)
In the EU this is trivial to bypass via the Roam-like-at-home policy and pre-paid Eastern European sim cards. In the US one is able to order a sim card via mail and while one has to submit PII I don't suspect it is checked rigorously. (versus EU photo ID schemes that cannot be fooled without significant effort and criminal energy)

So here's two of the worlds largest economies out - I can't imagine it's much harder in the "rest" of the world.

Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by janosdebugs on Thursday October 26, 2023 @02:58AM (#38022567)
I'd consult a lawyer before doing that. Al Capone got busted for tax evasion, not murder. If they want to get you, providing a false identity may or may not become a problem. Also, having the card shipped to your home address makes it super tracable.
Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by rcbdev on Friday November 03, 2023 @09:11AM (#38128185)
There are ways to anonymously receive mail in my country. Surely such mechanisms must exist in the great US of A.
Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by paganel on Thursday October 26, 2023 @03:22AM (#38022708)
> y and pre-paid Eastern European sim cards.

Unfortunately in much of Eastern Europe you can't purchase a SIM card without showing an ID, for sure you need to show an ID here in Romania. They've changed that relatively recently, I'd say during or just after the pandemic. I don't know about how things stand in neighbouring Bulgaria. In fact, a quick web-search confirmed that Bulgaria also has the same policy.

> You will be required to show an ID document in most stores.

[1] https://maukatravels.com/bulgaria/prepaid-sim-card-bulgaria/

Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by jruohonen on Thursday October 26, 2023 @02:57AM (#38022561)
> most actually

So what you'd do is to forget the whole SIM and only connect to WiFis in those bungaloos or wherever you're staying in your travels.

Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by contrarian1234 on Thursday October 26, 2023 @03:10AM (#38022635)
I don't know the legal specifics, but in some countries I've noticed all public WiFi requires PII. It's become more and more common. I mean you can still find open ones at like small hipster coffee shops, but it's to the point where it's quite rare/inconvenient

You usually know if a country's wifi will be a pain in the ass by going to a Starbucks and seeing their wifi portal. Some places you need nothing and some they want a birth-certificate/blood-sample

Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by trilbyglens on Thursday October 26, 2023 @04:33AM (#38023174)
Looking at you Germany
Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by jruohonen on Thursday October 26, 2023 @04:54AM (#38023303)
> I don't know the legal specifics, but in some countries I've noticed all public WiFi requires PII. It's become more and more common.

I wouldn't bother thinking about this in Europe already due to the free cross-border roaming. But for instance in Southeast Asia, it was pretty common that all the bars and whatnot had a WiFi that was granted to you with a mere password, although guesthouses' WiFi was to my memory linked to your room registration. And there were still a lot of WEPs and whatnot, and the cyber crime is booming there anyways so the requirement to disclose your details sounds like a security theater anyways.

Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by drbig on Thursday October 26, 2023 @03:38AM (#38022842)
At least here in Poland you can buy a sim card no questions asked, but it will not work until you register it - an action that requires you give up PII, including a valid PESEL[1].

I assume the legal basis for all of this is "terrorism!", which would imply that cheating on this could result in... nothing enjoyable.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PESEL

Re:Without a Trace: How to Take Your Phone Off the Grid by geraldhh on Friday October 27, 2023 @08:58AM (#38037832)
> it will not work until you register it - an action that requires you give up PII

what i meant.

> I assume the legal basis for all of this is "terrorism!

the "low hanging fruit of terrorism" aka nuisances, but yea