Ya Got's Any Cell Phones?

[legion]

Overheard an interesting conversation at the gas station on the "wrong" side of town the other day.

Some guy is in line in front of me to pay for gas. (I was picking up a soda. I usually pay at the pump.) Black guy, mid 20's, 6'3"ish. Doesn't look like a gangster but looks like an "entrepreneur", he's got some money but he doesn't work for a living. Just got that vibe.

Some girl walks into the gas station, notices him, and walks right up to him.

Her: "Ya got's any cell phones? Mine's all out."

Him: "Come by later. I'll have some."

This seemed kind of shady to me. Anyone know what's going on?

[Aurel]

Maybe he gots a cell phone recharging business. Or maybe cell phone is code for crack...

[Gogar]

They sell stolen phones before they get turned off. When the phone goes dead, they wipe it down an throw it away.

[audiman08]

You should have asked for one, and waited to see what he handed you...

[Sarc]

There's a wrong side of town in BNL?

[porsche4life]

If its like the town I work in.... Every side of town is the "wrong side"

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by audiman08

You should have asked for one, and waited to see what he handed you...

Correct answer.

[sc_rufctr]

Drug dealer would be my guess.

The girl knew him. She's probably a regular customer

[Jeff Higgins]

Gogar is right - they're selling stolen phones. They can usually get a few days out of them before they get turned off. Hardly seems worth the trouble, but it's more of a mindset than anything else.

Most modern cellphones have GPS tracking, don't they? From what I understand, it's so authorities can "find you in case of emergency". Regardless of what you think of the implications of that, I wonder how long before technology becomes available for an individual to locate his own cell phone with, say, a Garmin or something. Or for the same kinds of parents who think internet filters actually work to keep their kids off of "those" sites to be sold on the idea that they can track their kids' movements away from home.

If (o.k., more like "when") this technology ever becomes available, I can see folks like me going all Dirty Harry on some punk that stole my phone. My wife had her purse stolen (with her phone, wallet, car keys, etc. in it) right out from under her desk in a large medical practice office. Some guy dressed up like the Fed Ex man boldly walked through the office to the back receiving areas, cleaning out what he could on the way in and out. Anyway, the punks involved immediately attempted to start using her phone for long distance calls and her credit card for large purchases. Fortunately, none of the activity matched her "profile" (think about the implications of that one, too...) with either company, both shut their respective services down, and called her on her desk phone. She didn't even know her purse was gone until they called.

Anyway, I admit I had fantasies about calling her phone and saying something like "listen, punk - I'm looking at you right now - that's my wife's phone..." and leveling a .45 Colt at the back of their head. All this modern tracking technology could be a lot of fun...

[porsche4life]

Most modern smartphones come with a "find my phone" capability.... It works through MobileMe on the iPhones..... You have to pay for it tho....


With sprint you can turn on the family tracker as well... Again, pay by the month.

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

I wonder how long before technology becomes available for an individual to locate his own cell phone with, say, a Garmin or something.

Already exists.

there are certain iPhone applications that you can download that, if you get your phone stolen/lose it, you can log into a web page and it will show you on a map where the phone is located.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Schumi

Already exists.

there are certain iPhone applications that you can download that, if you get your phone stolen/lose it, you can log into a web page and it will show you on a map where the phone is located.

That is a neat option, but it costs $99 bucks a year. I just said no. If it was $9 buck a year I might go for it.

[gr8fl4porsche]

You can remote wipe the iPhone as well. Once you hit the command, the phone erases all stored data.

[Jeff Higgins]

Heh heh heh... my evil little mind is racing... the endless possibilities for some good ol' redneck fun with some thieving little punks...

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by audiman08

You should have asked for one, and waited to see what he handed you...

Originally Posted by Schumi

Correct answer.

Originally Posted by legion

Some girl walks into the gas station, notices him, and walks right up to him.

Her: "Ya got's any cell phones? Mine's all out."

Him: "Come by later. I'll have some."

Read.

[Rufblackbird]

g/f's purse was stolen a few weeks ago in vegas with her phone (and my wallet) inside. I used the sprint family tracker (15 day free trial, otherwise I think $6 a month?) and was able to track down the phone on two occasions to within 7 yards accuracy (I assume that's when they turned the GPS on, otherwise it was usually 300+ yards accuracy). We drove to those to addresses to have a look see, and DAMN, those places were a bit scary...