Level of anonymity while using a prepaid hotspot?

Just wondering about using one of these, and if anybody has any knowledge or input with them when used for dnm transactions?

Basically, I know a lot of people do their "business" only when on public WiFi etc to enhance their anonymity while online. The way I see it, wouldnt a hotspot give you at least the same amount of anonymity? I'm talking about the prepaid ones you can buy off the shelf at best buy / Walmart / radio shack/ etc. That only require a birth date (that is in no way verified) and sometimes a PIN number. If someone was really interested in you, and was able to track you while you were using one of these, wouldn't they only be able to get as far as maybe what cell tower your logged IP address corresponds to? Or am I missing something? And if thats the case, cell towers reach miles. If LE was able to narrow it down, isn't that less of a giveaway about your position than if they narrowed it down to a certain places public WiFi that reaches for maybe a few hundred feet?

Basically it's the same concept as a street merchant/vendor having a burner phone but in a 2014 applicable context


Comments


[1 Points] deezyyyy:

Good question. I'm curious aswell.


[1 Points] huh_whut:

In theory, it could be triangulated aka location drilled down if transmitting for long enough, if one never used it at their residence or place of work and tried not to use for extended periods of time, and changed it out regularly, you have one of the most truly anonymous ways of accessing ever. I'd think even using from home or place of residence it could in theory be fine, unless a massive vendor I don't think the cost of triangulation makes sense, more so read about that with kidnapping or mega high level fraud. Again switching them out, moving around, yeah I think you'd be about as off the map as possible. Then making all other processes as tight as the Internet accessing