this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
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[–] SnoringEarthworm@sh.itjust.works 153 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

In case you, like me, were wondering wtf stingrays are (besides a type of fish). This is from their report :

Cell-site simulators, also known as "Stingrays" or IMSI catchers, are devices that masquerade as legitimate cell-phone towers, tricking phones within a certain radius into connecting to the device rather than a tower

Cell-site simulators operate by conducting a general search of all cell phones within the device’s radius, in violation of basic constitutional protections. Law enforcement use cell-site simulators to pinpoint the location of phones with greater accuracy than phone companies. Cell-site simulators can also log IMSI numbers (unique identifying numbers) of all of the mobile devices within a given area.

...

The fact that government agencies are using these devices without the utmost consideration for the privacy and rights of individuals around them is alarming but not surprising. The federal government, and in particular agencies like HSI and ICE, have a dubious and troubling relationship with overbroad collection of private data on individuals.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 days ago (8 children)

Wait, people didn't know about StingRays?

They've been around for like a decade now.

But uh, yeah, basically, they're fake/spoof/honeypot cell towers that man-in-the-middle all nearby cell network traffic.

This is how they do the whole... everything dragnet, all the time, basically all cop cruisers have them in them, active all the time, this is why you just don't bring your phone to a protest unless you really know what you're doing.

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[–] wetling@lemmy.world 30 points 3 days ago (4 children)

When someone finds one of these simulators, what would they do?

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 60 points 3 days ago

Based on this link, the proper thing to do should be to report it to the FCC. I am not sure how much Trump's FCC will pay attention to the report, though....

[–] Chozo@fedia.io 29 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Whatever you do, you shouldn't accidentally spill saltwater on it. That could destroy a very expensive piece of spying equipment, and would be a terrible, tragic accident that could interfere with the advance of nazism.

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

You're thinking of magnets. That's how you ruin magnets.

https://youtu.be/rkIKEJPAUzM

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[–] felixwhynot@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Report it to your favorite news media ig

[–] MTZ@lemmy.world 24 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Also alert your friends/colleagues that there are IMEI/IMSI scanners at the event, so that they can prepare accordingly by leaving their phone at home, putting it in a farraday bag, etc.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 16 points 3 days ago (6 children)

It doesn't matter if there are IMSI catchers or not, they should be leaving their phones at home.

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[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 12 points 3 days ago

Find your anarchist friend with excess radio equipment and let them know.

[–] brianary@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What happened to all the phone apps that made an effort to detect IMSI catchers, like SnoopSnitch, which appears to be abandoned (F-Droid reports some fishy anti-features?).

Probably removed by the respective app stores under pressure from law enforcement agencies. A lot of free “snoop” or network detection apps have been removed or paywalled.

[–] vildis@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Here is it working in action while law enforcement is flying a spy plane arouns a neighborhood

https://youtube.com/watch?v=d1tYv2gCd6k&t=483

[–] modus@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Damn... I happen to have an Orbic hotspot. I know what I'm doing instead of being productive this week.

[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 60 points 3 days ago (3 children)

It's been tested at actual protests FYI. It works.

Use your imagination what that means you can do when you find one.

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[–] hypna@lemmy.world 67 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Fucking cool, and also remember to leave your phone at home, or at least on airplane mode.

[–] TheWhetherMan@lemmy.world 49 points 3 days ago (13 children)

In airplane mode and even while turned off, phones have been known to still transmit data via background services. Leaving it behind, or a Faraday bag are the only assured options I'm aware of

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[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 25 points 3 days ago

Modern phones will still ping the Bluetooth low energy networks like Find My for Apple devices even when off or on airplane mode. That’s how things like AirTags work.

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[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

What if the cops have a trace buster buster?

[–] MTZ@lemmy.world 70 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Then you would just wanna bring along your trace buster buster buster.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)

[Busta Rhymes enters the chat]

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[–] scops@reddthat.com 9 points 3 days ago

Always crazy seeing a The Big Hit reference in the wild

[–] nulluser@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Who are you calling buster, buster?

[–] Mossheart@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

Who YOU gonna call? Trace Busters?

[–] Neverclear@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Hey, I'm not your buster, guy.

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[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

My phone OS allows me to disable 2G, which I do because of SS7 vulnerability, but not 3G unfortunately.

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