Trackable SIM cards for foreigners to be decided on next month

[Xircal]

12 hours ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

LINE requires a phone number to register. Thereafter the number is usually irrelevant. I've used the same LINE account because it's the only one on my phone in several countries and I've got a SIM card for each of those countries

 

I was under the impression that removing the SIM deletes the user's account.

 

But you might be right. Trying to find information on the line.me site is tantamount to an exercise in futility.

[MaiChai]

All sims are trackable anyway. First you need to register sim with id or passport. 2nd every mobile operator knows where a sim is in the country. This works via mobile switching center and base station. So whoever proposed the idea hasn't a clue about how mobile phones work.

[Heng]

On Friday, September 30, 2016 at 7:09 PM, malagateddy said:

I think that many expats will be the same as I re. mobile phones.

 

I.e., the wife has 2 phones, one for herself and the other one is mine, both registered in her name.

 

I don't see this as a big issue, as when doing your extension of permission to stay/ 90 day report,

 

you give the powers that be your phone number.

 

 

It's the same for Thais who want to preserve our privacy somewhat.   You just have your temporary labor register your SIM.   

 

 

[surangw]

and criminals would never  be able to have a resident buy them a sim card, or use a stolen phone,  right?

[Autonuaq]

On 9/30/2016 at 6:20 PM, BuckBee said:

It's a no go, the can't force gps on via sim card especially on ios plus most peoples batts would be dead in 4hrs :-)

It complete nonsense idea by technically incompetent fools .

Simple tracking can be done via network though (already is really) & no magic sim required .

 

It much like the new foreigner info form as that has been drastically revised as the first version was such a poorly thought out concept ...

What they want do is get good teachers then wait 2 generations & then think up ideas using educated brains  ...

The easy way is just to assign new simcard to certain telecom blocks so that are the foreigner blocks in the telocom section.

Easier to track.

Less educated staff needed.

That is in basic the idea

 

 

 

Only the sales staff is the problem

And the willing thai to provide his or her card for some money

[Chicog]

Why don't they just have stamps ready at the airport for everyone's foreheads on arrival: "Farang - No good".

 

It makes as much sense as this idiotic idea.

[BuckBee]

2 hours ago, Autonuaq said:

The easy way is just to assign new simcard to certain telecom blocks so that are the foreigner blocks in the telocom section.

Easier to track.

Less educated staff needed.

That is in basic the idea

 

 

 

Only the sales staff is the problem

And the willing thai to provide his or her card for some money

You don't need educated staff or reissued sims, you can flag each customer in system as foreign already and extend tower data records ect as is for those flagged .

The whole idea is horse 5hit pure and simple .

Edited October 1, 2016 by BuckBee

[gk10002000]

So the idea is any foreigner, and maybe Thaiis that buy a new sim card will have to buy one of these special SIM cards.  Neglecting the technical idiocy of this, won't it be possible for somebody to simply buy or bring in their own foreign cell phone and just use that?  For example most tourists these days probably already have an international frequency compatible phone/device and would not need to buy a SIM card.  Or won't people simply go over to cambodia, laos, and buy one or won't there now be a huge market for such phones and people will be re-selling them in Thailand?

[fruitman]

3 hours ago, Chicog said:

Why don't they just have stamps ready at the airport for everyone's foreheads on arrival: "Farang - No good".

 

It makes as much sense as this idiotic idea.

 

It should be: "farang overcharge him!" but they already do that.

 

The idea is to have farang use a certain telecomoperator so they can make some extra money to share.

 

They better give tourists a free celphone with gps-tracker but that doesn't make any money of course.

 

I hope the plan will become real, can't wait to read the headlines in the european newspapers...For sure nobody will come anymore and they will realise what a ridiculous idea it was. Thailand the one and only country where you can't use your own simcard anymore or you have to buy a double-sim-phone first plus extra battery to charge the thing all the time when gps is turned on.

 

I

[roo860]

last fine was going 103km/hr on mornington peninsula freeway in australia. doubt the speedo in my car is really that accurate. 
after a year of trying to change my address in my work permit in pattaya without success i got fined 8500thb for it. am i really that much of a criminal?

In their eyes you obviously are.

[samsensam]

 

sim cards in the uk are already traceable by the authorities, should they choose to,  so don't see why the same shouldn't be possible in thailand.

[NongKhaiKid]

2 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

It should be: "farang overcharge him!" but they already do that.

 

The idea is to have farang use a certain telecomoperator so they can make some extra money to share.

 

They better give tourists a free celphone with gps-tracker but that doesn't make any money of course.

 

I hope the plan will become real, can't wait to read the headlines in the european newspapers...For sure nobody will come anymore and they will realise what a ridiculous idea it was. Thailand the one and only country where you can't use your own simcard anymore or you have to buy a double-sim-phone first plus extra battery to charge the thing all the time when gps is turned on.

 

I

Spoke to my daughter in Scotland yesterday on Skype and she knew all about the scheme as it had been on the news, not sure which broadcaster, and she said it hadn't been presented in a positive way pointing out that a country that relies heavily on tourism isn't exactly making people feel welcome.

 

It will be interesting to know if this does put intending tourists off, not that we'll ever know because the Minister and TAT never let anything affect their positive outlook and figures. I can imagine they'll use the propaganda that everyone understands it'a all done for their safety and security and it's welcomed.

Edited October 1, 2016 by NongKhaiKid

[Caps]

4 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

sim cards in the uk are already traceable by the authorities, should they choose to,  so don't see why the same shouldn't be possible in thailand.

 

Clearly you are not reading the thread properly.....the same is possible in Thailand...that is the point, why do they need to develop a 'special sim card' and why do you need to get one so you can be tracked.  Because it can already be done 

[maoro2013]

22 hours ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

That's a very simple question to answer. Have you been convicted of a crime? If so, you're a criminal. It's a binary state - on or off, like pregnancy. However I'm not sure that traffic offences are "criminal" acts, more likely "misdemeanours" because they can be satisfied by a fine. Dropping litter is another example. It's against the law but I doubt that being caught littering by dropping your empty condom packet in the street in Pattaya will result in a criminal record

Some traffic offences in Australia are considered crimes eg driving under the influence.

[Khun Paul]

18 minutes ago, Caps said:

 

Clearly you are not reading the thread properly.....the same is possible in Thailand...that is the point, why do they need to develop a 'special sim card' and why do you need to get one so you can be tracked.  Because it can already be done 

You are using LOGIC, something unknown in Thai Govt circles.

[SaintLouisBlues]

54 minutes ago, maoro2013 said:

Some traffic offences in Australia are considered crimes eg driving under the influence.

I guess that must be why you can't expunge it by paying a fine

[SaintLouisBlues]

42 minutes ago, Khun Paul said:

You are using LOGIC, something unknown in Thai Govt circles.

One word too many there

[Docno]

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Well I had to present my passport to DTAC to prevent my phone getting disconnected last year.

Disconnection would be related to your SIM, not your phone's IMEI.

[elliss]

 Thai Goverment need to know the whereabouts of  Aliens  in  their  Kingdom , so what.

   UK ,  should  follow  this  example , with  their foreign visitors , immigrants .

[BuckBee]

38 minutes ago, Docno said:

Disconnection would be related to your SIM, not your phone's IMEI.

His point being they already know who's sim it is as registration was enforced about a year ago.

They already know what phone & imei you use, system also has ability retain details of browsing history, email accounts used, call & sms logging etc, Huge amount of data and that just standard system with flagged accounts getting further checks . Sim card has no relevance to it ... The coments made on Malaysia using trackings sims is also false (I have recent new malaysian sim and spend quite some time in malaysia) .

Also worth noting they been selling already registered sims in MBK for months for about 100-150Bt more so easy by one of those if want stick your phone in a plant pot in hua hin :-/
concept is completely useless, all they need is contact details & next of kin when enter country and start getting police etc competent at their job . If they had used phone records in the Ko Toa case it would of been interesting see what tower locations, what calls & sms made during & after the murders ! funny why never been looked at when so so useful :-D
 

[bokningar]

On 9/30/2016 at 10:18 PM, Xircal said:

 

LINE requires a phone number to use it.

But must it be a Thai number?

[digibum]

On 9/30/2016 at 7:15 PM, madmitch said:

Why can't I find anything online regarding the Malaysian traceable SIMs for foreigners......outside of the Thai media reporting on this issue that is.

 

I highly suspect some bigwhig was told that Malaysia tracks foreigners via SIM cards and as most government idiots do in Thailand he couldn't wait to get his mug in front of a camera to tell the media that Thailand was going to do the same.  

 

I never really understood technically how this was supposed to be accomplished.  I've searched quite a bit on the topic and I've seen some tech that does something sorta, kinda, maybe like what was described in the original statements but not really.  

 

And there were all sorts of holes in his description.  Like they said that they could track you via GPS even if your phone didn't have GPS.  How?  Would these SIM cards have GPS chips in them?  Doubtful.  Or did he mean they can triangulate the signal from the mobile towers?  They can do that already.  

 

Bottom line that this hearing is just a way to save face.  This guy made a boneheaded move and opened his mouth without knowing what he was talking about.  Now they'll have a hearing and people will tell them that it's a bad idea and he can claim that due to public feedback he's decided not to pursue it and he's such a great guy for listening to the people.  

[Chicog]

19 hours ago, Docno said:

 

Sure, but don't they need to have a name/identity associated with the IMEI? Knowing where a particular phone is without that is useless. Last time I bought a phone (overseas) I didn't have to give my identity. And not all of us use smartphones that require us to register with AppleGoogle

 

You can change the IMEI.

 

 

[Xircal]

4 hours ago, bokningar said:

But must it be a Thai number?

 

Yes, that's what I thought, but apex2000 seems to think otherwise.

 

 

[bokningar]

1 hour ago, Xircal said:

 

Yes, that's what I thought, but apex2000 seems to think otherwise.

 

 

 

Found this

https://www.kongregate.com/forums/2468-general/topics/442102-tutorial-setting-up-line-chat-app-without-a-smartphone

[Docno]

7 hours ago, BuckBee said:

His point being they already know who's sim it is as registration was enforced about a year ago.

They already know what phone & imei you use, system also has ability retain details of browsing history, email accounts used, call & sms logging etc, Huge amount of data and that just standard system with flagged accounts getting further checks . Sim card has no relevance to it ... The coments made on Malaysia using trackings sims is also false (I have recent new malaysian sim and spend quite some time in malaysia) .

Also worth noting they been selling already registered sims in MBK for months for about 100-150Bt more so easy by one of those if want stick your phone in a plant pot in hua hin :-/
concept is completely useless, all they need is contact details & next of kin when enter country and start getting police etc competent at their job . If they had used phone records in the Ko Toa case it would of been interesting see what tower locations, what calls & sms made during & after the murders ! funny why never been looked at when so so useful :-D
 

The other poster said he had to show his passport to register at DTAC. That would be about registering a sim card, not a phone, so I thought IMEI was not relevant. Especially as you can simply move the sim to another phone. Presumably DTAC would 't care about the IMEI of your phone at time of purchase of sim card.

 

I also wonder about everything you said. I have a German friend who has both a smart phone and an old Nokia that he uses for phoning. If he gets a sim with his smart phone and moves it to his cheap old non smart phone, I wonder just how much info gets transmitted....

[tifino]

5 hours ago, digibum said:

 

I highly suspect some bigwhig was told that Malaysia tracks foreigners via SIM cards and as most government idiots do in Thailand he couldn't wait to get his mug in front of a camera to tell the media that Thailand was going to do the same.  

 

I never really understood technically how this was supposed to be accomplished.  I've searched quite a bit on the topic and I've seen some tech that does something sorta, kinda, maybe like what was described in the original statements but not really.  

 

And there were all sorts of holes in his description.  Like they said that they could track you via GPS even if your phone didn't have GPS.  How?  Would these SIM cards have GPS chips in them?  Doubtful.  Or did he mean they can triangulate the signal from the mobile towers?  They can do that already.  

 

Bottom line that this hearing is just a way to save face.  This guy made a boneheaded move and opened his mouth without knowing what he was talking about.  Now they'll have a hearing and people will tell them that it's a bad idea and he can claim that due to public feedback he's decided not to pursue it and he's such a great guy for listening to the people.  

 

and the Malays have really won this Round of neighbourly Tom Foolery:

 

- and thrown a really good 1st April joke Furphy at the Thais

-  who completely took the bait: hook, line and sinker

 

[Xircal]

55 minutes ago, bokningar said:

 

Found this

https://www.kongregate.com/forums/2468-general/topics/442102-tutorial-setting-up-line-chat-app-without-a-smartphone

 

I know about the PC version, but it's little inconvenient to drag one of those around with you.

 

By the way, your post might get deleted by the mod squad because you posted a link to another forum which is forbidden.

 

 

[elliss]

3 hours ago, Xircal said:

 

I know about the PC version, but it's little inconvenient to drag one of those around with you.

 

By the way, your post might get deleted by the mod squad because you posted a link to another forum which is forbidden.

 

 

 

 post deleted .

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

As I understand how it works all SIM card are tractable, but it is much easier if the GPS on the phone is on, and of course unless the phone is totally off the signal can still be traced.

Earlier this year all SIM cards had to be registered and those without an identity were turned off.

So what is the new proposal going to change? Only tourists who want a "local" SIM card will now be more easily found.

I think is less of an intrusion of "human rights" than is already in place in most countries.

Cheer up! Its just another load of tripe...