In the case of a car accident, mugging or a back woods accident, a cell phone is a life saving device. If you are an international businessman or student, a cell phone is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to keep in touch. If you often have off site meetings or travel frequently for work, your cell phone can allow you to alert clients if you are running a little ahead or behind schedule. If you are the CIA or NSA, cell phones make it easier to track down any wireless device user. Does that make the world safer? It certainly has the ability to take away from your freedom as a United States citizen.



Before cell phones were used more often than landlines, recording a phone conversation without being noticed was not simple. The person wanting the recording needed to attach a physical device on the actual phone wire. Only skilled and practiced professionals could successfully get recordings unnoticed. Although authorities had access to land line phone calls, court permission was required before access to phone records was granted. Any phone conversation you had was going to be kept relatively private. Two things have changed this. The first being the current presidential power. Secondly, and more long term, is the ease of which cell phone conversations can be recorded. Anyone with some type of recorder walking down a populated street will pick up several one sided conversations offered by loud conversationalists on their cell phones. More technical and concerning, however is the ease of using and obtaining interception devices.

Interception devices may look like a fancy briefcase, but they are the 21st century's glass cups. An interceptive tool can be charged up and used without an attached power source. However, many devices come with a power supply so you do not lose power just as the cell phone user admits what you knew he would. If you are not a member of the law enforcement, the penalty for owning a portable interceptive device is jail time. It is quite unlikely you will get any refund from the $20,000 or more spent on the interception device.

A second type of interception is cell phone cloning. Each cell phone has two unique numbers: a serial number and a telephone number. The radio wave transmissions that are sent out from your cell phone may transmit these numbers. Someone monitoring these transmissions can then use your unique numbers and essentially, act as you via your telephone. If you are concerned about this type of interception look into purchasing an authentication system for your cell phone.