Dealing with Cell Phone Problems
Greg Wilson
November 22, 2008
When it comes to issues with our wireless devices, we don´t often think of having problems with actual prisoners in a scandal within the prison walls, but that´s exactly what happened at the end of October in Houston, Texas. After a massive shakedown in the state´s prisons, 155,000 inmates were searched and a total of 13 cellular telephones and 12 chargers for these phones were revealed. This is a sign of an ever-growing scandal that is occurring as mobiles are being smuggled in to prison residents.
More than one person has now been officially charged with smuggling phones in to these prisoners, including one that was handed to a death-row inmate. In fact, The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has even confiscated a minimum of one subscriber identity module (also referred to as a SIM card), which is a tiny chip that is implanted into a mobile in order to exchange information among different phones.
Phones were found in various different hiding places, such as in the ceiling of a shower area. After the finds, all 111 prisons within the second largest system of correctional facilities were put into lockdown and normal visits were suspended in order to sift through and find other unacceptable items. Since then, visitors have had to be subject of body scans with handheld metal detectors.
From the contraband phones, more than 2,800 phone calls were made in under a month. One of the mothers of the inmates was paying for one of the bills and was quickly arrested. Officials believe that one of the correctional officers had been bribed an amount equivalent to a month´s salary for his silence in the importing and use of the phones.
Similarly, since this time, the use of cell phone directory services online in order to reverse search incoming call numbers has shot up dramatically, especially within the state. After all, who knows who is calling – could it be an inmate running a scam to steal your money? When it´s a matter of something as simple as a quick search online, many people feel that it´s worth the few seconds every day to ensure that the calls they´re receiving are legitimate.
More than one person has now been officially charged with smuggling phones in to these prisoners, including one that was handed to a death-row inmate. In fact, The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has even confiscated a minimum of one subscriber identity module (also referred to as a SIM card), which is a tiny chip that is implanted into a mobile in order to exchange information among different phones.
Phones were found in various different hiding places, such as in the ceiling of a shower area. After the finds, all 111 prisons within the second largest system of correctional facilities were put into lockdown and normal visits were suspended in order to sift through and find other unacceptable items. Since then, visitors have had to be subject of body scans with handheld metal detectors.
From the contraband phones, more than 2,800 phone calls were made in under a month. One of the mothers of the inmates was paying for one of the bills and was quickly arrested. Officials believe that one of the correctional officers had been bribed an amount equivalent to a month´s salary for his silence in the importing and use of the phones.
Similarly, since this time, the use of cell phone directory services online in order to reverse search incoming call numbers has shot up dramatically, especially within the state. After all, who knows who is calling – could it be an inmate running a scam to steal your money? When it´s a matter of something as simple as a quick search online, many people feel that it´s worth the few seconds every day to ensure that the calls they´re receiving are legitimate.
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