Posted on 07/14/2008 5:59:07 PM PDT by WoofDog123
Over the years I have read stories on FR about reports of muslim males buying huge numbers of pre-paid cell phones, often triggering calls to law enforcement. While I don't generally discount reports from local media outlets (remember the OU bombing?), it seems crazy that this would be going on with nary a peep from other sources. Here is my odd story about this.
~3 months ago I was in New Orleans, and purchased a prepaid cell phone at a story on Royal street almost at canal (quarter-side). The store proprietors were obviously muslim, don't know if pak. or arab. While the salesman was very helpful, and I paid (cash) and got my cards and phone, I then asked another 40'ish employee some questions, which he totally and completely ignored - no eye-contact, nothing. He did talk to and answer questions to a latino (in accented and somewhat broken spanish, which I am fluent in) with no apparent issue. Note that I am white (anglo-american, whatever) and clearly from the US by speech.
I then asked him more questions, such as why he ignored me, which he continued to do. I then told the original salesperson that I would like to know why this person would not speak to me. He made an apology and said other people had made the same complaint. I told him that if they did not already have my money (cash) I would certainly have walked out (it is a fact that I needed a phone immediately and would have been pressed to find the time to argue or call the police (the NOPD, mind you, though they would possibly look out for an apparent tourist in the quarter) for a refund, since the phone cards I had bought had already been loaded into the phone by the ignoring-me employee, while he ignored me.)
Then, after leaving the store, I began using the phone, and realized from the call history it had been used 3 times previously, *6 months before*, in oct 07, to 3 different numbers, 3 different area codes (one was miami, one i think was nyc, don't remember the other but geographically distributed), and then not used again.
This made me remember the stories about masses of these phones being bought up by muslim groups of men. What if they are being used as one-time numbers, then reboxed and sold via such outlets?
BTW this is my first attempt at a vanity post in ~10 years on FR, so if I did it wrong, please constructively show me how I can post this somewhere.
They were buying them because they were cheap and could be reprogrammed to use in the Middle East. It could be possible that they might have been used is some covert manner. Get a hold of the counter terrorism unit of the FBI and give them the numbers on the phone.
I thank you for the heads up, as I also use prepaid cell service- it’s cheaper for my purposes. I use T-Mobile to Go, which one did you purchase?
Page Plus Cellular. I bot whatever they had, I needed a phone pretty much at that moment.
Unfortunately, the video display on this phone died a month or so ago and I can get no info from it, nor does it try to boot onto a network as far as I can tell.
I could give my phone number and let LEO do their work, but I rather skeptically assume they are instead going to assume all the numbers called are suspect (I used the phone, with a phone card, to call Panama) and *I* will end up on some damn secret list for the rest of my mortal years. Bureaucratism meets secret lists :(
Well, at least you can be sure your phone wasn’t used as a bomb trigger. You might send the info to Homeland security and let them figure out—or not—whether they are a threat or just some cheap Islamic retailers.
If you ever go back see if they have any of these in stock.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1162751/posts
I am very series about this. You did much better on your first post.
“If you ever go back see if they have any of these in stock.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1162751/posts";
I will look, it was a phone card shop, so seems unlikely.
“I am very series about this. You did much better on your first post.”
What was wrong with my second post?
Call the Federal Trade Commission, asking for the Public Utilities Commission names and numbers of all the states, explaining your findings, right before you call the FBI.
They are selling used phones as new, and the phone #s in the units are important, but you have to do it now. You might be able to shut down a whole lot of terrorist financing across the country - make the calls.
Thanks for posting this.
.
Important ping
Thank you for the ping txflake.
ON THE INTERNET (Updated)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1682087/posts
“Looking for Map of Cell Phone Purchases”
self | August 11, 2006 | madison10
Posted on August 11, 2006 3:01:13 PM PDT by madison10
Homeland Security should create a safe tip line - so people afraid of getting involved could still give information. Do you suspect or know more than you’re saying?
I have no knowledge whatsoever I have not posted here.
It seems clear that one might wonder if a foreign, muslim employee who refuses to look at, acknowledge, or speak to (white) americans but chats well enough with latins would be a candidate for suspicion of harboring ill intent or notions towards americans or the united states, or be sympathetic to a terrorist movement.
You picked up on something with the man - was there anything else that you noticed? How long were you in the store? Why would anyone keep him as an employee if he offended so many? Did he seem to be more “in charge” than you would have expected? Was the excuse for his behavior somewhat fearful?
The salient fact is you were sold a used phone purported to be new. This is a big, big deal, something the FTC and the FCC don’t take lightly. Have you called anybody yet? Because we will, if you’re unsure about doing it. Just tell us where you want us to pick up on pursing this.
This is an important matter, and we can help with this.
“You picked up on something with the man - was there anything else that you noticed?”
The man expressed no overt hostility at all, he simply refused to acknowledge my existence, even while phoning in my phone cards.
” How long were you in the store?”
maybe 20 min
“Why would anyone keep him as an employee if he offended so many?”
Speculation - family. no idea.
“Did he seem to be more “in charge” than you would have expected?”
no, there was a guy behind the register, older (60’s), whom i took to be in charge, maybe even the owner.
“Was the excuse for his behavior somewhat fearful?”
not really, more like he had heard it before, he was really sorry, the salesman who helped me knew exactly what I was talking about, but nothing was going to be done about it.
Whether infant formula, prepaid phones or dollar store junk, they gravitate to these ventures.
Reselling old phones makes sense, and they certainly have a ready-made network of convenience stores to work through.
Some of the perps who were arrested in one of the phone scams, which it certainly is a scam even if we don't know all the details, are tied right into the Holy Land Foundation, and should be suspect of wrong doing “just because”.
Thanks for the info.
Now call the FTC and FCC.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.