Recently, you may have seen in the press reports of commercial services whereby mobile phones can be used to track the whereabouts of employees, etc. It is an obvious extension of Big Brother in this country, as there are any number of abuses it can be put to.

However, more significantly the police appear to be in on the act as well. Activists have long been paranoid about mobile phones, not just turning them off, but also taking the batteries out before they even leave for meetings. Many will not even have meetings if there are mobiles present at all.

Nevertheless, the mobile phone is a useful tool in the activist’s action box. Unregistered mobiles, purchased with cash off of market stalls or out of sight of CCTV and with SIM cards changed are good ways to stay anonymous.

These new commercial services are being used as an attempt to curb these freedoms. Recently one activist was repeatedly dialling some animal abusers who have been busy trying to suppress legitimate protest. As they were making their phone calls, repeatedly ringing a number and cancelling the call after one ring, they noticed that they had received a text from one of the commercial services saying that the phone was being located.

The technique is simple. The mobile’s number is entered in and a text sent to it. The mobile sends a reply to the effect that it received the text. This reply allows the commercial service to identify the location of the mobile.

So far, it is innocuous, as they have not identified who actually has or owns the mobile. When this activist saw the text, they immediately switched off the mobile and left the area. An hour later they returned on other business and found two policemen doing an obvious search for the owner of the mobile. We cannot go into the situation more, but there was no question about why the police were there.

Rather than being dismayed, the activist realised that this was actually a sign of just how successful the technique of repeat “one ring sign-off” telephoning is for targeting telephone lines and companies. Not that we condone it, but one should recognise the impact it has.

But we stray. The more serious point is that there is a threat to anonymity here, but all is not lost. Just a few more basics precautions need to be taken to keep you safe.

I. Stay away from CCTV. The same goes for when using ordinary phone booths, as most which are in city centres are covered by CCTV in some fashion, or at least well enough to put you in the area at the time of the call. Choose instead outlying areas, or phone booths located in the countryside.

II. Keep moving about. Do not simply stay in one place for large lengths of time. Do your ringing and move on immediately. Mobile phones are good in that it is very easily to change location. If using phone booths, rotate them every time and avoid setting patterns

III. If you get one of the above location determining texts, switch the phone off immediately, take the battery & SIM card out and get out of the area.

IV. To keep your phone properly anonymous, only switch it on when you are actually planning to use it, and at no other time. Do not use it to ring numbers belonging to your friends – keep it for protests only.

V. Keep the SIM card separately and stored securely. This will not deal with the issue of IMEI numbers, which every phone has uniquely, but will help you considerably in case of a raid.

VI. After a while they may simply block your mobile number. Switch it to new target numbers or simply purchase a new SIM card (about £15 – much cheaper than a new phone) and keep your phone’s anonymity by having a new number for you to use.

All this is for information purposes only. We do not encourage or condone you to use the phone system for illegal acts or harassment, as this would constitute a breach of the Misuse of Telecommunications Act. Be nice to people.