Unlisted Phone Numbers

They would need a search warrant from a judge. Or they would need to be the Bush Administration, and the cell phone company would need to be AT&T or Verizon.

Mystic Blossom said:

I was more thinking technology-wise, but you bring up another question. If they had permission from the owner of the plan, would they still need a warrant?

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Telecommunications are governed by federal law in the USA. Most companies would require a warrant. Permission is irrelevant.

If you are writing fiction, though, you can shape your world and create your own laws and reality.

You are sweet, Mystic Blossom. It is your work, and your world, make those bastards do what you want.

If I remember correctly: cell phones aren't usually traceable to a location anyway; that's why they're such a pain for 911 operators. By contrast, someone calling from a land-line must be at the location of the phone, which is on file, which can be plugged into a map grid.

Unless you have some kind of a GPS locator in your cell phone, I don't think a carrier could trace the signal. The only data they would easily get would be the registration address provided by the phone's owner. And for someone trying to locate the phone's owner, that doesn't even take things like number and location-masking into account.

But I'm talking off the top of my head here, and an expert's input would be appreciated.

Here's the corollary, again off the top of my head, so don't take this for gospel. If you're just making up your own world, go for it:

Cell phone conversations can be intercepted through radio receivers, if you get the correct band. Theoretically, if the signal lasted long enough, you could use triangulation data to point the approximate location. That's kind of a Hardy Boys thing to do, and I'm not reasonably certain that it would work in real life. There's also the fact that signals can be intercepted and traced through direction, strength, etc. Is a cell phone carrier likely to do that? Not in my opinion. Could a federal agency do it? You better believe it. That's why microburst transmission technology got to be so popular in later Cold War years. The signal didn't last long enough to be as easily snatched.

>If I saw it on Law and Order, I can probably get away with using it in a short story XD
Using poorly researched TV shows as a basis for fiction isn't such a good idea in my opinion. As you say, you'll probably be able to get away with it, but why not take a bit more effort?

Getting the number is a matter for a warrant as mentioned above. Tracking the location of phone is possible - any iPhone user can tell you how accurate it is (iPhones are not fitted with GPS but they still know roughly where they are)

>Cell phone conversations can be intercepted through radio receivers
You're right but only in the eighties/nineties.

Modern cell phones use digital transmissions and can't be meaningfully intercepted or tracked as you described.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2292692_listen-cell-phone-conversation.html

Mystic Blossom said:

I'm working on a story where a couple of detectives subpoena someone's cell phone records. Of course, the most important number, that of a potential perp, is unlisted. If they asked the cell phone company to find the source of any numbers in a phone that aren't listed, would they be able to find all of them?

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Just to make sure I understand your question... The detectives subpoena a cell phone number and get the records. By unlisted are you saying the number they know to belong to a perp isn't included in the records or my definition of "unlisted" is a number that is private (and no subscriber information is included)? I'm confused. You can subpoena an "unlisted" number just as you would a listed number. What information the phone companies provide depends upon the wording of your subpoena [ie., if you don't ask for all associated subscriber information you're not going to get everything available; this includes specifically requesting subscriber info for all incoming/outgoing calls belonging to that same carrier). Also, if you don't ask for other numbers included with the requested number's residence or other information associated with same subscriber and/or address you won't get that either. It's all in the wording and it's all very confusing!].

As for your last question...

If they asked the cell phone company to find the source of any numbers in a phone that aren't listed, would they be able to find all of them?.

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If by "not listed" you mean no subscriber--you would identify the carrier for the landline/cell number in question and submit a subpoena to that carrier for the subscriber information. I'm not sure I understand your question but hope that helps.

Oh, and you can "trace" a cell phone via satellite--IP tracking and triangulation (not sure if that's the technical term or not LOL). You won't get an exact location but it will give you a quadrant but this is way above and beyond a simple admin subpoena.

Also, if they have a "potential perp" and I'm assuming they have some info on this perp, why don't they submit a subpoena for this individual's name/personal identifiers, by their known addresses or related info? You can submit a subpoena for all numbers associated with a specific address(es), individual or associated with a specific account. That's why you must word your subpoena carefully. If you ask for just one number and the person has four phone numbers you won't get that info unless you ask for it!

Cell phone conversations can be intercepted through radio receivers, if you get the correct band. Theoretically, if the signal lasted long enough, you could use triangulation data to point the approximate location. That's kind of a Hardy Boys thing to do, and I'm not reasonably certain that it would work in real life. There's also the fact that signals can be intercepted and traced through direction, strength, etc. Is a cell phone carrier likely to do that? Not in my opinion. Could a federal agency do it? You better believe it. That's why microburst transmission technology got to be so popular in later Cold War years. The signal didn't last long enough to be as easily snatched.

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Whether they could or couldn't isn't the issue; whether or not it's legal and admissible in court is the important question. Even with the Patriot Act provisions the fed doesn't have license to intercept random communications, etc.

[Note: I'm responding from a former federal LE perspective and as one who completed a number of subpoenas. Please note that regs will vary from carrier to carrier and situation to situation. For instance you'd need a Search Warrant to obtain e-mail record info / social networking site account info, etc. There are a handful of police officers/fed agents on this site who may have updated info for you as well!!!]