The ABC's of Cell Tower Data !

Ladies and Gentlemen, first off, welcome to my Wall of Evidence (we'll get into that in just a second). Secondly, if you do any type of investigation work, and are not pulling cell tower data, you are missing a tremendous amount of leads and evidence!
While preparing for a investigator group presentation, I prepared a slide in which I give the "ABC's​ of Cell Tower Data".  I'm going to be brief in my descriptions  but I hope you get the idea.  Here we go!

A = ALERTS
Cell Tower Data gives you a history of where the device has been. And it's not limited by a chip on a phone! Go ahead, get a whole year's records of the cell tower data and watch where  that device went (try that with an ordinary cell phone dump).  This data will alert you to new areas you need to cover to find additional evidence for your case. Is there a gas station with a video camera that could render some good video for your case? How about highway or toll cameras? Witnesses?  Places of interest that you did not realize?  The cell tower data can show you areas that you did not even know could be of help to your case.  How about that one call all by itself? Check it out, it could be a pizza delivery made to the subject (yeah, you didn't' get that piece of data from the cell phone did you?).  No, the towers gave it to you.

B = Bonding Material
This is substantive data that will not only link other evidence together, it will help build the wall of evidence you are needing for your client.  Think of your case as a wall.  Each brick is a block of evidence you have either for or against the defendant. Now, the cell tower data is the CEMEMT that can be used to bond the evidence together so that your case is rock solid.

C = Corroboration 
When you are building your wall of evidence, the cell tower data can support your evidence. How? Say your subject has an alibi and witnesses, but no one will believe him or her.  The cell tower data may be what you need to show "see, he ain't lying!"  Or, your client may have fit the physical description of the bank robber, but...the cell tower data shows his device no where near the crime (and he swears it's always on him!).  The tower data supports his claims.  Ok, lets flip the coin:  you have a receipt of him being in a store right down the street from the crime, blood dripped from his hand in the bathroom.  Pull the tower data and viola!  Does it show his device in the area of the crime? The cell tower data corroborates and "bonds" with the evidence you have.  Slam dunk...let's see LeBron do that!

So, whether you are on the prosecution side or the defense side, the cell tower data is invaluable to your cases.  So what's holding you back from getting it? The answer?  Nothing but a warrant or a subpoena.

If you need help writing the warrants or subpoenas, my company specializes in providing exactly what you need to ask for. And...I can map the entire call detail records you get plus present them in a visual presentation.  Just give me a call...864-962-7307.

If you are already a digital forensics examiner and want to get into cell tower data mapping, I can also help you there. Call me for more info.

Thanks for stopping by.  Oh and next time you see a cell tower, just remember the power they hold for you and your client.

Tom 

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