Buying a PAYG sim anonymously

[fado19]

Hi,
When buying a sim, and topping up even with cash, shops such as O2 require a name and postcode. This then has the number in your details. Having done this will it be ok to use as surely it is tracable to me? Would the future way round this, be buy it with a fake name and fake but real postcode? thanks.

[buccdriver]

Use a supermarket and pay cash both for sim purchase and topping up. Problem solved......?

[anonyorks]

Use a supermarket and pay cash both for sim purchase and topping up. Problem solved......?

I buy a new sim every month for £1 and pay cash and a £10 top up paid in cash. You don't have to give o2 any information they will want it to try and send you marketing guff. I used to go to o2 to get my sim and top up and stopped going as I used to get 20 questions. Nothing sinister they just are doing what they are told to get you to get a contract phone.

[george r]

get it at Tesco and pay cash..

[Bangers and Gash]

Hi,
When buying a sim, and topping up even with cash, shops such as O2 require a name and postcode. This then has the number in your details. Having done this will it be ok to use as surely it is tracable to me? Would the future way round this, be buy it with a fake name and fake but real postcode? thanks.

Are you wanting it for terror offences, because I doubt a pro$$ie has access to the necessary resources to hunt you down. 

[Diehard]

Hi,
When buying a sim, and topping up even with cash, shops such as O2 require a name and postcode. This then has the number in your details. Having done this will it be ok to use as surely it is tracable to me? Would the future way round this, be buy it with a fake name and fake but real postcode? thanks.

Give a fake name and address!

[5th Musketeer]

I have bought quite a number of SIMs and have never had to give my name or any contact details.

[fado19]

Maybe I cocked this one up. Deep paranoia I can only think of is if I'd phoned some 'shop' or even visited it, which then later down the line got raided for some reason, my history is on their phone for the police.

[mediumjoe]

3  are easy to deal with, no name no pack drill,and you don't have to put money on it every month.

[CoolTiger]

Shops like O2, Carphone Warehouse,EE, etc are only asking for your address to send you Spam mails, etc.

Instead, as already mentioned by a few posters, you can  often buy SIM Card for ANY network for only £1 from supermarkets, ethnic mobile shops, etc. without ANY Questions asked.

Quite often, if you also buy top-ups at the same time, they will throw the SIM card for free.

[fado19]

Would you still use the one I got or start again?

[mh]

As above, buy at supermarket. Or have a fake address to hand if you really want to buy in a phone shop and they demand an answer. If they ask for proof then tell them to do one.

[the fitter]

Hi,
When buying a sim, and topping up even with cash, shops such as O2 require a name and postcode. This then has the number in your details. Having done this will it be ok to use as surely it is tracable to me? Would the future way round this, be buy it with a fake name and fake but real postcode? thanks.

Giving a name and postcode at O2 is optional, just say you don,t want to give it, and mind to ask to get it freed up for adult lines, if you want to register it on AW.

[Iloveoral]

get it at Tesco and pay cash..

+1 I do this too, very easy no issues at all

[Gordon Bennett]

Above supermarket advice is okay in terms of a crappy phone for calls and texting on!Y. However, those SIMs are useless in a smart phone cos they're not age verified and you can't access adult content on the phone.
I'd hoped to use a crappy £40 smart phone for all my illicit punting activity but getting the Tesco SIM age verified has proved a stumbling block.

[VFM]

You can get free Lebara SIM cards from some newsagent.  I still have a few that are in the packet and have not been used.

[mediumjoe]

 As I have already said go to 3, problem solved.

[scutty brown]

You can get free Lebara SIM cards from some newsagent.  I still have a few that are in the packet and have not been used.

all the Lebara sims I've purchased have had age restrictions on them and that can't be bypassed without identifying yourself.
I've had no problems with sims from EE, Vodaphone and 3

[Thecunninglinguist]

Yesterday I went into Carphone Warehouse and bought an EE sim card so I could use it in an old smartphone, rather than my steam driven punting phone. They have an offer on whereby the sim card is free and if you top up £10 for the first month you get 7gb of data 150 mins and unlimited texts. You just have to top up each month £10 and then the data drops to 500mb or 2gb for £15.
No one at the shop asked me for any details or ID and the sim comes with a top up card that works without registration. I set up another gmail account from the phone, so as not to appear on my internet by using wifi. Setting that up I was asked no questions about my true name, address etc. The 7gb means you have no worries about setting up your apps, Whatsapp, Facebook, if you want it.
I accept that cell tracking is still possible if you use it from home but then I don't intend to use it for any illegal purpose, so will always be under the radar. I just want, like most of us to keep my punting and civvy life separate and not be disturbed by unwanted messages or social media on my normal phone.
I can't see that you could need more anonymity than this seems to give me?

[thor555]

lebara or lyca mobile most high streets in a city have these names plastered on the front of their shops
Normally £1 a sim no registering required and scratch card top ups so not much can be traced. However cctv everywhere, come on the old bill got better things to do then punter shopping!

[datwabbit]

Hi,
When buying a sim, and topping up even with cash, shops such as O2 require a name and postcode. This then has the number in your details. Having done this will it be ok to use as surely it is tracable to me? Would the future way round this, be buy it with a fake name and fake but real postcode? thanks.

unlocked phone for cash from CEX
PAYG SIM from Three for cash - no hassle as mentioned already
top up voucher from a shop for cash

(I hope Three do not go down the postcode route)

[cgmfudcm]

I buy a new sim every month for £1 and pay cash and a £10 top up paid in cash. You don't have to give o2 any information they will want it to try and send you marketing guff. I used to go to o2 to get my sim and top up and stopped going as I used to get 20 questions. Nothing sinister they just are doing what they are told to get you to get a contract phone.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you buy a new sim every month?
Is that really neccessary? I've used the same PYG sim ( bought for cash with a cheapo handset ) for a couple of years. What am I missing?

[anonyorks]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you buy a new sim every month?
Is that really neccessary? I've used the same PYG sim ( bought for cash with a cheapo handset ) for a couple of years. What am I missing?

Then I know it is very unlikely I will receive unsolicited texts. I have to go buy a top up so for the sake of a £1 I'd rather have a new number each time

[cgmfudcm]

Ah, gotcha
Mind you I get the odd vodaphone text giving me free texts, but I see your point

ta

[fado19]

Ok cheers for the help

[Home Alone]

get it at Tesco and pay cash..

+1 I do this too, very easy no issues at all

But if you do this, DON'T claim your Clubcard points! 

[Silver Birch]

get it at Tesco and pay cash..

^^ That's what I do for Sim and subsequent top ups - Simple. No questions asked, but I do wonder if I detect the occasional 'knowing look' 

Probably just my paranoia!

But if you do this, DON'T claim your Clubcard points! 

[scutty brown]

^^ That's what I do for Sim and subsequent top ups - Simple. No questions asked, but I do wonder if I detect the occasional 'knowing look' 

Probably just my paranoia!

Definitely paranoia. The shop assistants don't give a monkeys

[dubs]

^^ That's what I do for Sim and subsequent top ups - Simple. No questions asked, but I do wonder if I detect the occasional 'knowing look' 

Probably just my paranoia!

They probably think "pikey" more than "punter"

[mrhappypants]

This may not work for everyone but the following - "hiding in plain sight" - has been useful for me. 

I keep several old smart phones that I bought cheaply for cash from work as "overseas" mobiles. 

I fitted PAYG sims from 3 that gives significantly reduced rate calls overseas compared to a UK sim from the other networks.  My "overseas" mobile doubles as my punt phone (with a keyboard lock).  The others are shared around the family when we are on holiday so we can stay online and in touch with each other without running up big bills, so the presence of these extra phones never raises any questions.  All sims and top up's bought with cash and no hassle accessing adult networks that I have found using 3G.

This is not as secure as burner phone but it overcomes the problem that an extra, unexplained phone is itself incriminating.

[luckyleon]

They probably think "pikey" more than "punter"

+1  you'd be surprised by the amount of civvy that doesn't have a clue as to what a punter is or what it is 

[Reiver]

Asda payg sim is 50p and you get about 15 mins and some texts for free use them and bin it for another one .

[tantric talents]

Are the supermarket sim cards unlocked for adult content access?
If not how do you enable that?