How far back can a phone be pinged?

Inner-city towers are typically good for up to one to two miles; however, the towers’ cell signals can be blocked by tall buildings, more so by a newer, predominantly “steel” type of skyscraper.

Can police track phone conversations?

In the United States the government pays phone companies directly to record and collect cellular communications from specified individuals. U.S. law enforcement agencies can also legally track the movements of people from their mobile phone signals upon obtaining a court order to do so.

What do cell phone records include?

Cell phone records, otherwise known as “Call Detail Records”, show the caller’s phone number, duration of call, start and end time of the call, and the cell phone tower the phone was connected to. Text message meta data is also attainable, but the actual contents of the messages are not in the CDRs.

How accurate are Cell Phone Tower Records?

Using cell towers to detect location is not as accurate as GPS. Locating a mobile phone based on a single cell tower can place the mobile phone in a broad area, but it cannot pinpoint it.

Can police ping a phone that is turned off?

The phone does not have to be actively engaged in a call to be connected to cells, but it must be turned on; phones in the “off” position or those with no batteries do not register with the cellular carrier’s network and cannot be tracked.

How long do phone companies keep your phone records?

A federal regulation requires landline providers to store call detail records 18 months, but wireless companies store the records for shorter – or significantly longer – periods of time.

Can phone companies retrieve deleted text messages?

Your carrier stores text messages for a while after they’ve been deleted, and they may be able to retrieve what you need. It’s unlikely, however, that your carrier will recover deleted text messages if the reason for your request is minor, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if you want to try.

Can police ping a cell phone?

Police officers are able to obtain real-time location data by asking cell providers to “ping” the GPS coordinates of individual cell phones. That information can be a powerful tool, both for finding missing persons and tracking people suspected of crimes.

Why do cell phone service providers sell cell tower dumps?

This is possible because the cell phone service providers sell access to their logs. They have created repository databases of their user data, and they sell both access to those databases as well as data specifics like cell tower dumps for a fee.

Can police make you give them your phone?

Can Police Make You Give Them Your Phone? The short answer is no, police officers can’t just seize your phone. Because your phone is your property, they need a warrant in order to take it from you or to look at it or your other devices. To get access to your phone records from your wireless carrier, they also need a warrant.

How do cops spy on cell phones?

This kind of spying can be accomplished via something called a “ Tower Dump ,” according to USA Today: Cops can examine phone company data to figure out which cell phones were near specific cell towers at specific times. Then they could try to get more detailed information about individual phones.

Can a lawsuit turn up details about how police use technology?

Potentially, the lawsuit could turn up details about how the technology is assisting cops.