Meeting an accomplice or partner-in-crime in a park, or shopping mall, as per many a stereotypical movie scene, to discuss a heist probably remains a sound strategy, provided you’ve switched off your mobile phone, travelled on public transport (having paid cash) to the meeting point, and worn a disguise.
Being visible, or “on the grid”, in any shape or form however is bound to very quickly bring about your downfall…
“The big lesson now is don’t try and con anyone, stay on the up and up,” said private investigator Charlie Rahim, of the Charlie’s Angels investigation company. “If you’re ‘on the grid’ – that’s a term that means you’re on anything electronic like mobile phones, the internet, credit cards … anything linked to a database – then they can check anything on what you’ve done.” Mr Rahim said authorities – with proper warrants – had access to a wide array of phone logs, camera footage and account statements that allowed them to piece together a person’s day. “The mobile phone is where authorities get the best information – they tell who you called, who called you, when you spoke to them, where you spoke from. “And with mobile phones, even if you’ve not made calls, it’s possible for the phone company to use the antenna to tell what area you are in.
