A few years ago, around the year 2000, one could walk into any convenience store in Taiwan and purchase a “burn phone” pre-paid sim card. You didn’t need anything other than money to buy them.
Walk into a 7-11.
Choose one from the many pre-paid sim cards.
Buy it from the clerk and walk out.
Remove the sim card from the plastic sheath and slide it into your phone.
Activate the number with the pre-paid limits.
You could always add money by buying more add value cards from any convenience store.
And just like that, you would have a “burn phone” that wasn’t connected to your name, address, email, passport, ARC, ID card.
Fast forward to today.
I walked into a 7-11 to buy a “burn phone” sim card. No joy. They don’t sell them anymore. Only add value cards.
I walked into a Hi-Life. No joy. They don’t sell them anymore. Only add value cards.
I walked into a Family Mart. No joy. They don’t sell them anymore. Only add value cards.
Every place I went no longer sells the sim cards. It seems that you must now go to an authorized mobile phone store to buy them and that they require official government identification in order to buy them.
It looks like the days of the “burn phone” in Taiwan is over. Why?
Does anyone know if it’s still possible to get a pre-paid “burn phone” sim card in Taiwan without necessitating showing identification?
Is the United States truly one of the last bastions of freedom? Gee whiz! :raspberry:
I heard something about foreigners racking up huge phone bills and then skipping back to their homes in Southeast Asia without paying the bill, so then foreigners weren’t allowed to get cell phone plans in their own name anymore. I think that was with cell phone plans, not cards, so I guess it doesn’t apply.
those fones were perfect for criminals to contact each other without any trace. Because they were unregistered fones. Not possible anymore. Prepaid fones in USA also require registration now IIRC.
At least that’s wrong for Washington and Hawaii where you can still buy a burn phone without any type of registration.
Everytime I go back to the US, I buy a burn phone for about $20 USD, which includes the phone with sim card and $20 USD worth of airtime. I can also buy add value cards whenever I need more airtime if necessary. I have never had to provide any identification when purchasing or using the burn phones. The last burn phone I purchased was during this past Chinese New Year in Washington State.
I remember having to sign up online for my virgin pay as you go fone with a name , email address or some such.
The feds want to be able to identify you. Because these fones are perfect for crims.
but not all states may be the same.
I mean you could always give someone else’s info signing up. YOu didnt have to go to a store. Just buy the fone at a supermarket, but i remember you had to sign up with some personal info.
but its been a few years since i bought such a fone, maybe things have changed. And things may be different other then in california.
[quote=“Northcoast Surfer”]A few years ago, around the year 2000, one could walk into any convenience store in Taiwan and purchase a “burn phone” pre-paid sim card. You didn’t need anything other than money to buy them.
[/quote]
A friend of mine visiting Taiwan did this two years ago with little hassle at a 7-11. He may be in for a shock when he comes back this summer.
[quote]
Is the United States truly one of the last bastions of freedom? [/quote]
I’m pretty sure the Philippines will continue to be pretty free. A guy selling smokes on the street can also hook you up with a sim card, then electronically transfer credit to the card. No questions asked.
So its changed from 2 or 3 months ago? I got a prepaid sim at the airport no problem - top it up either at 7-11 or one of the many mobile phone stores.
So, this means that you simply handed the clerk cash and he/she handed you the sim card? You weren’t required to show your identification? No passport, no ARC, etc?
Many countries in Asia toss you free SIMs at airport. Thailand, Philippines… for example. When your exiting customs, the cell phone providers just hand you SIM cards for free. You go to 7/11 and buy time for it only by knowing the phone number. No ID whatsoever required.
Hopefully, Taiwan will get on board with this system to encourage tourists to visit. The “criminal” aspect is not really a concern these days. The most recent concern was Chinese spys… but they are roaming all over the place now as tourists so who cares if they have a non-traceable phone… it isn’t James Bond 007 stuff anymore with phones…
When I visited two years ago, me and the lady friend (Taiwanese) went into a mobile store, she registered the card under her name.
I visited a year later (last year), thinking the card would be defunct. As soon as I got to within 5 clicks of Jinmen on the ferry the signal picked up, but I had to top up the card with NT300 card when i arrived, to make/take calls.
I still use it in Xiamen (PRC) when Google Play Store says (using my Chinese SIM card) “this region is not supported” - works a charm.
Strange how them cards work from region to region, area to area, country to country.
I have SIMs in both Thailand and Philippines because I visit each a few times a year and neither of them wanted any personal information and they don’t expire as long as use and bump them up every few months.
Taiwan is mucked up in this regard. The phone companies would make a lot more money if they would toss out SIMs like other countries in the region. Construction and labor workers alone from Thailand, Philippines, etc. alone would use them enough to make it good business sense, not to mention, but mentioning, the international tourists.
I really don’t understand how a burn phone and a prepaid sim (with passport ID) would be substantially different for tourists or workers. Needing to show your passport to get a sim doesn’t seem to be too much of an inconvenience. Perhaps it is unnecessary though.
A concern of police and security agencies worldwide is that prepaid mobile services allow the user to be anonymous and therefore facilitate criminal, or terrorist activities. Prepaid phone users can be anonymous for two reasons:
The prepaid SIM card can be sold in a shop like any other goods. There is no need to register them at point of sale, unlike postpaid phones who have to credit check the user before allowing them to purchase and enter into a contract.
Because prepaid services can often be topped up using cash and vouchers, there is no way to trace the payment and hence determine the identity of a prepaid phone user from payment records.
It has been suggested that a solution to this problem is to register the users of prepaid mobile phones. Such legislation faces heavy opposition from providers and consumers of prepaid service, as many consumers who desire privacy for legitimate purposes or simply by personal preference find anonymity to be the primary selling point of prepaid phones. According to a 2005 study[6] 9 of 24 surveyed OECD countries require prepaid mobile users to register. These countries are Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Slovak Republic, South Africa and Switzerland.
The freedom and privacy allowed by prepaid cell phones might help circumvent government oppression and censorship, allowing improved reporting and coordination of dissidents under oppressive regimes.
While there is no doubt that criminals and terrorists use telecommunication services, to date there has been no public study that has clearly examined the possible link of non-registration of prepaid mobile phones to greater risk of criminal or terrorist activities. However, mandatory registration may be a breach of a prepaid user privacy, and currently the question various jurisdictions have decided on or are examining is whether this privacy breach is an appropriate action versus the threat that anonymous usage of prepaid services pose.[/quote]
Buying a prepaid sim card without having to show your identification is like buying a chocolate bar. Easy, convenient, instant and most importantly…PRIVATE. No need to break out a logbook and enter anyone’s id number, etc. Also, the main issue for me is privacy. I do not ever want to provide my identification as a requirement to make a purchase for anything! Same goes for gun ownership and registration. One-hundred percent of all of my firearms are unregistered and will remain so regardless of whatever liberal lawmakers say or enact in the way of gun control laws. I will also never surrender any of my weapons for any reason. But, that’s a topic for another thread.
Having to show identification to buy a prepaid sim card IS THE PROBLEM! That’s the point I’m making.
In days gone by, I bought prepaid sim cards at convenience stores just like buying anything else. I chose the sim card package, the clerk rang it up, I gave the clerk the moolah and then walked out with my new anonymous phone number. Now, according to my search yesterday, you can’t buy a prepaid sim card without the requirement to show your identification. That’s crap.
Why? 
But yeah no problem at all.