I found
this article
that suggests that purchasers should have to show id and that their pre-paid cell phone would be registered to them. The idea is that since the use is currently anonymous, they are used a lot by drug dealers and terrorism suspects. What do you think? Is this a good idea???
The practical reality is that every pre-paid cellular phone is accounted for in some manner, shape or form in a company's inventory and that the store selling the phone has a surveillance system on sight. Thus, when you call from a phone purchased "anonymously" and use it for criminal purposes that come to the attention of your local or national law enforcement agency, it is a pretty sure bet that your picture will end up being circulated in the latest BOLO handout given at the start of the next shift.
The same discussion has focused on pre-paid gift cards, the ones you can use anywhere. For one, the government says it eases smuggling over the border, makes drug trade easier, and allows you to purchase things, even over the internet (minus, of course, your shipping address, etc.) without having to leave a paper trail. The government hates untraceable services and goods almost as much as they hate cash.
