I’ve visited Australia as a traveler, apparently I’ve heard that “burner” phones over there are not really anonymous since they literally demand for ID (WTF? That defeats the purpose of it being classed a burner phone) otherwise they aren’t allowed to sell it to you, what’s meant to be a ‘disposable’ phone turns out on buying a regular one when you consider the fact they ask for driver’s license prior to finalizing the transaction.
Don’t even talk about SIM cards for BP, since that too is subjected to KYC in Australia as I’ve learned. They want to harvest data such as driver’s license & residential address (for citizens), or passport info / flight confirmation (return ticket) if you’re a traveler. Without those things: vendors can’t legally sell you a burner phone, so: DON’T BUY A BURNER PHONE IN AUSTRALIA. Their method of acquisition defeats anonymity.
There’s options out there, yes, but you have to go look for it. The way I got my burner was buying a google pixel (for graphene os,) with cash and then putting it on a pay as you on a cash-funded visa got card
Verizon happily hooked me up.
(I use the phone for going to protests and such things.)
Buying a phone anonymously is easy, you can do that in every phone store.
It’s the sim card that’s the problem. if you pay for your service with VISA, it’s not anonymous.
It’s the sim card that’s the problem. if you pay for your service with VISA, it’s not anonymous.
As I mentioned in my original comment…. It’s specifically a visa gift card.
Which you get by paying cash and reload by paying cash, with no information given. Verizon just goes you the sSIM card when you set up on their service. (And the only real reason to do that is so I don’t have to go into their stores all the time.)
Look, every country has a tourist hot spot where you buy a burner phone in a thick foreign accent and tell them you don’t have an ID.
It might take a few hours and visits to several shops, but you’ll get an anonymous phone by the end of the day.
As far as I last checked, yes, still possible in the US.
Stores like Walmart sell the phones and phone cards for prepaid service and all that can be paid with cash which doesn’t require ID.
If nothing else, you can buy a second hand phone from online places for meeting people or wherever and get a phone card for cash and neither doesn’t trace back to you either.
Of course this is likely because everywhere we go is covered by cameras so you’re never truly anonymous if someone is determined enough.
If you saw the show Better Call Saul, this is what Saul was doing when he sold phones to people from the shop he worked at.
The US is huuuuge. There’s more places without cameras than places with cameras.
I remember someone that got an unlimited data SIM out of something like a car windshield boot, very punk
