In Congress: `Pre-Paid Mobile Device Identification Act' by Sen. Schumer (NY)

5-28-2010 Congress:

Title: A bill to institute an identification requirement for the purchase of pre-paid mobile devices.

5/26/2010: S-3427 was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

OK, this is a unbelievable intrusive bill as folks will see in a minute. This bill was just introduced and sent to the above committee.

In our nation there are many folks, mostly senior citizens, who do not have State or Federal issued IDs, and may want to own a inexpensive pre-paid cell phone for emergency purposes. Can you imagine them going to WalMart or other such store and having to submit the information indicated in yellow below. Hey Schumer, have you forgotten about the possibility of "Identity Theft."

Folks in Congress need to treat the American public better with their lawmaking, not everyone is a criminal or a terrorist, which is the basis Schumer is using for proposing this bill.

Further, allowing the U.S. Attorney General to come up with ANYTHING as a rule, to require of the public, for a simple cell phone purchase, is plain going too far. Their needs to be limits on what the U.S.A.G. can do or require.

I would vote NO on this bill and suggest folks contact their representatives in Washington and voice your opinions as well. The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation may be contacted as well CLICK

eAdvocate

Here are the personal ID's required to purchase:

SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION VERIFICATION.

(a) In Person Sales- An authorized reseller making a sale to a purchaser in person shall verify the purchaser information provided under section 3 by requiring the purchaser to display--

(1) a photographic identification card issued by a Federal or State government, or a document considered acceptable for purposes of subparagraphs (B), (C), or (D) of section 274A(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)); or

(2) any 2 of the following documents:

(A) A Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement received from the Internal Revenue Service, provided that such form has been received from the Internal Revenue Service within the prior 18 months.

(B) A Form 1099 Social Security Benefit Statement received from the Social Security Administration, provided that such form has been received from the Social Security Administration within the prior 18 months.

(C) A Form 1099 received from any other agency of the Federal Government other than the Social Security Administration, including the Internal Revenue Service, provided that such form has been received within the prior 18 months.

(D) Any document containing personal identifying information that the Attorney General finds, by regulation, to be acceptable for purposes of this section.

(b) Other Sales- An authorized reseller making a sale to a purchaser not in person shall verify the purchaser information provided under section 3 by requiring the purchaser to submit the following information:

(1) Valid credit or debit card account information.
(2) Social Security number.
(3) Driver's license number.
(4) Any other personal identifying information that the Attorney General finds, by regulation, to be necessary for purposes of this section.

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DC- Senate takes up measure to jam cell phones in prisons

7-16-2009 Washington DC:

WASHINGTON -- The man calling Texas state Sen. John Whitmire could recite the names, ages and addresses of Whitmire's daughters. The lawmaker was terrified: The caller was Richard Tabler, a two-time convicted murderer calling from death row.

When Whitmire began to investigate how the inmate got a cell phone in prison, Tabler threatened to have him killed.

On Wednesday, Whitmire pleaded with the Senate Commerce Committee to back legislation allowing technology in prisons that would "jam" cell phone transmissions. The October incident made it clear that current techniques for finding and confiscating prisoners' cell phones don't work, he said.

Wireless industry representatives, however, are concerned jamming technology would work too well, blocking legitimate cell phone calls - or calls to 911 - from those who live near prisons and aren't incarcerated.

If the contraband cell phones are left in place, they said, they can be wiretapped to get valuable information.

The Senate panel is considering a bill sponsored by its top Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, which would allow cell phone jamming technology in prisons. The Federal Communications Commission has been barred from blocking any kind of radio signal since 1934.

Senators routinely expressed support for the bill in the hearing, with Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, signing on as a co-sponsor. With the addition of Begich, the Senate bill has eight co-sponsors, including Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

"The states clearly have a responsibility" to address the cell phone problem, said Hutchison, "but we have a responsibility as well."

Two new items will be added to the bill next week that will address concerns raised by the wireless industry advocates, Hutchison said. One would require prisons to get approval from the FCC before using the jamming devices, and the other would require the devices to be tested before being put to use.

With a cell phone, inmates can organize an uprising inside the prison, plot an escape or conspire to kill witnesses set to testify against them, law enforcement officials said, adding that the problem is growing. Also, traditional methods of finding cell phones - random searches, sniffing dogs and body orifice scanners - are expensive and don't always work.

"My family was in danger, as well as all the citizens of the state of Texas," Whitmire said. "I can't stress to you how serious a public safety issue I think this is. We need this additional tool."

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives, and prison officials in 26 states have signed a petition to allow cell phone jamming.

But wireless industry advocates are skeptical that prisons could properly install the technology so it wouldn't interfere with legitimate calls. Inmates have been smuggling letters in and out of prisons for decades, noted Richard Mirgon, president-elect of the International Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials in Carson City, Nev.

"We don't believe (jamming) is effective," he said. "Some inmate with an engineering background, or who is just plain creative, will find a way around this."

Cell phone jamming is "not a panacea," and new technology that locates cell phones would be a better solution, added Steve Largent, a former Oklahoma congressman and the president of CTIA, a wireless industry advocacy group whose clients include Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T.

The phones are usually smuggled in by corrupt guards, thrown over prison walls, or hidden in packages shipped into the prison, said John M. Moriarty, Inspector General for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The numbers are growing. Last year California prison officials said they confiscated over 2,800 cell phones, more than double from the year before, said Gary D. Maynard, the secretary of Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

The phones can net smugglers big bucks: Tabler, the death row inmate who threatened Whitmire, paid $2,100 for his. They can also be used by multiple inmates. The cell phone Tabler used logged over 2,800 phone calls the month before it was discovered and was used by nine death row inmates. ..Source.. by CARRIE WELLS

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NY- Police: Dad sets up registered sex offender

7-9-2009 New York:

GLENS FALLS -- A registered sex offender who tried to set up a meeting with a 15-year-old girl behind a bar in the middle of the night was arrested late Wednesday after the girl's father intercepted the text message he sent the teen, police said.

Michael W. VanNess, 25, of Lupine Lane, Queensbury was arrested at 11:30 p.m. when he went to meet the girl behind a Broad Street bar, but found police waiting for him instead, said Glens Falls Police Sgt. John Winchell.

VanNess, who police said is a registered sex offender, would not say why he wanted to meet the girl, Winchell said. But he was arrested for endangering her welfare by trying to lure her out behind a bar late at night, the sergeant said.

Police said the teen's father happened to see a text message arrive on her phone Wednesday night, and he arranged a meeting behind Sully's bar pretending to be the girl, Winchell said. Winchell said he did not know if the father knew VanNess was a registered sex offender.

VanNess was released pending prosecution in City Court. He is not on the state's public sex offender registry; those deemed Level 1, the lowest risk of re-offending, are not on the public registry. ..Source.. by PostStar.com

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Text messages sent with ill will can be a crime

12-23-2008 National:

The next time you get upset with someone and consider sending a telephone text message, you might want to think again.

If it comes across as a threat, or even if you text an annoying message repeatedly, the police could come knocking on your door.

"It's actually easier to prosecute if someone does a text message (threat instead of a phone call)," said Lt. Troy Elwell, of the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. "If you've got the text there, you've got the evidence."

And the punishment could be just as stiff as if you verbally threatened them.

"Even though sometimes it's easier to send that (a text message) ... it could still get you the same punishment," he said.

Lately, police say they've seen more reports from people saying they've been threatened or harassed in a text message.

In a case reported in Hephzibah last week, a woman told police that another woman had called her several times after being told not to and that she also sent a text message stating, "I'm gonna kill you."

On Dec. 7, a North Augusta woman told authorities that she had received four text messages from a family member by marriage and that one was threatening. In that case, police advised the suspect not to call or text the woman again.

And on Nov. 30, a report was filed with North Augusta Department of Public Safety in which someone reported receiving repeated vulgar text messages and a picture via cell phone of an unknown man's genitals.

In Columbia County, sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said about one-third of the harassment reports are text-message-related. He said about half involve a threat.

"We have some that are not threatening but are annoying and harassing," Capt. Morris said, adding that such text messages can be a crime even if the person hasn't asked the sender to quit. "It's not like criminal trespass where you have to warn them first."

Richmond County sheriff's Maj. Ken Autry said his county hasn't had many text message harassment reports in the past, "But we're starting to see some now." He said one recent case involved a person sending a text from Canada, which proves more difficult to prosecute because there is a greater burden of proof to make it a federal case.

In Georgia, Capt. Morris said, improper text messages fall under the harassing telephone calls statute. A conviction would be a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to 12 months' confinement, up to a $1,000 fine, or both, he said.

In South Carolina, Lt. Elwell said, such cases are considered unlawful use of a telephone, which is a misdemeanor and results in a fine not less than $100 and not more than $500 and no more than 30 days' imprisonment. Lt. Elwell said the only catch to prosecuting text-message cases is to prove who was using the phone at the time, but he said that usually isn't difficult.

Capt. Morris said many times people don't realize how easy a text message can be tracked.

"They may be under the misunderstanding that these calls cannot be traced when in fact they can," he said, adding that the sheriff's office often issues subpoenas to cell phone providers to retrieve text messages. "And within a few days, we receive those records." ..News Source.. by Preston Sparks| Staff Writer

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