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TV Smith's Dua Sen. The politically incorrect irregular columnist combines
his idiosyncratic observations and tangential commentary into a blog...
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THE
TRUTH IS OUT THERE
by
TV Smith
03/03/04
A leading local mobile phone operator has introduced
a new service that allows its subscribers to locate
their friends without the hassle of a voice call.
With this innovative service, you can now find
out in an instance, where your loved ones are
without them even realising.
In
case you didn't know, a GSM-type handphone constantly
sends out information about its location back
to a central computer at the telco, usually accurate
to within a few meters, provided it is switched
on. There is nothing insidious about it. The mobile
phone habitually and silently calls back the mothership
to report its position, thereby enabling incoming
calls to be routed to the user at any geographical
location covered by the network. This technology
allows the freedom of movement and seamless roaming
that is automatic, transparent and often taken
for granted.
However,
law enforcement, espionage and surveillance agencies
around the world have been known to use this 'bonus'
system feature to track and follow targets. In
other words, (and in theory), someone, somewhere
knows which political party meetings you attended
or the place you hang out without the need to
trail you in person.
The
electronic breadcrumbs left behind can be useful
when tracking down criminals and kidnapped individuals.
At a fee, many telcos worldwide now package this
as an additional service that provides subscribers
with a fast and simple way to keep an electronic
eye on their child or loved ones. An employer
could also use such a service to keep track of
employees out in the field.
The
concept is both fascinating and frightening as
the issue of (potential) privacy intrusion immediately
comes to mind. Fortunately in this case, the person
whom you plan to stalk electronically needs to
agree to the plan first. It is however, unclear
(to me) whether the target would be alerted to
subsequent requests for location after the initial
permission. The request and permission process
is done via SMS and is almost instantaneous.
Just
key in "FIND 0141234567" (replace with
the friend's mobile number) and send the SMS to
the number advertised using your pre or post paid
phone. Within seconds, you will receive a revealing
message; "0141234567 is in Jalan Telawi 3,
Bangsar" (example), together with a timestamp.
For each trace request there is a 15 sen charge
with an additional 30 sen charge upon each successful
trace.
I
personally think this service is extremely useful
and could help allay unwarranted suspicions, reduce
domestic disputes and even hasten sticky divorce
cases. With a little creative thinking and ingenuity,
Malaysian women can now track their wayward husbands
or boyfriends down to a few meters, with or without
their permission. How? Simple, but please bear
in mind that the following idea is not related
in anyway to the usage intended or advertised
by any mobile operators and I will not be responsible
for any consequences arising out of its use.
With
the disclaimer out of the way, here's how.
With him unaware, do the initial 'electronic
handshake' between your phone and his. Without
his knowledge, send the request from your
mobile to his mobile and accept the request
appearing on his phone yourself. Come next
evening you'll know whether he is really at
his office or busy somewhere in Jalan Alor.
Better still, do not depend on his phone as
he might wise up to the surveillance and shut
off the phone when he is at dark and secretive
places. Just buy a cheap mobile phone and
do the initial request confirmation with your
own phone. Make sure you engage the silent
mode, disable all lights, vibration and tones. |
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Wrap the phone in an unsuspicious-looking decoy
and plant it in his vehicle. Avoid using foil
or any metallic material to wrap the phone as
it might shield the radio frequencies, thus disabling
the phone and the plan. As such, the boot might
not be an ideal hiding place. A good place could
be underneath the car seats or inside the glove
compartment. With a fully charged battery, most
new models can last up to a week on standby. Just
replace the battery with a fresh one every other
week. Test everything in advance.
Through
this new bugging or homing device, you can now
accurately pinpoint his location to that spa in
Puchong or to the mistresses' apartment in Tivoli
Villa. The Sunday jog or golf game could well
be spent at afternoon tea dances in some dingy
bars somewhere, but at least you now know where
he stands. The truth is out there, somewhere.
*
The first (self) documented case of a local e-stalker
is Ms Arni of Arni
The Soul Saver fame.
©
2004 TV SMITH
Link to this article: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/030304_estalking.html
See also: SEX
PLEASE, WE'RE MALAYSIANS | THE
NAKED CARD | SMS
- SHORT MARRIAGE SERVICE
Link
to TV Smith's Dua Sen: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/
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