ICE bought vehicles equipped with fake cell towers to spy on phones
6 hours ago
- #law-enforcement
- #privacy
- #surveillance
- ICE paid $825,000 to TechOps Specialty Vehicles (TOSV) for cell-site simulator (CSS) vehicles.
- Cell-site simulators, also known as 'stingrays,' mimic cellphone towers to track and intercept phone data.
- ICE has used CSS vehicles extensively, with records showing 466 deployments between 2017-2019 and over 1,885 between 2013-2017.
- TOSV provides customizable law enforcement vehicles, including mobile forensic labs and surveillance vans, but details on CSS integration are undisclosed.
- Critics argue CSS devices lack transparency, often bypass warrants, and risk ensnaring innocent individuals.