Can police trace a cell phone even if it is turned off?
~Prior to July of this year, the answer would have been no. However, researchers at the Department of Defense and MIT recently developed a new tracking device that does not require the phone to be turned on anymore. This new technology no longer requires signals from towers, etc. for tracking. In the simplest terms, it uses satellite signals and electromagnetic radiation produced by sub-atomic particle interactions which can lock in each location for up to approximately 12 days. MIT is working on refining it to up to a month. Once it locks in on the phone, it can loop the whole system and trace every call and every location sent and received during the lifetime of the phone. All conversations that were made or received on that phone are transferred digitally onto a computer which reestablishes the conversations using the actual voices. Right now the technology is only available to the CIA and FBI terrorism divisions. The DEA has already requested it and approval is expected to be given
I don’t know about tracking you, but check this out. The government can remotely activate any cell phone that has a battery in it whether it’s turned on or not. They can activate the microphone that you talk into and hear your conversations, so if there’s something you don’t want anybody to hear, then don’t just turn off your cell phone, take out the battery. The technique is called “roving bug” and was approved by top U.S. department of justice officails. The article in the link explains more. Crazy isn’t it?
