If you step onto a Philadelphia bus with Eric (last name withheld) and you can’t make a single call from your cellular device it’s likely because he won’t let you. Eric has become a silence vigilante of sorts, using a cellular phone jammer to stop people from talking loudly on their smartphone inside the enclosed public space.
Eric rides the city’s 44 bus route where he uses his cell phone jammer to drop calls being conducted by loud talkers.
According to the amateur phone hacker:
“A lot of people are extremely loud, no sense of just privacy or anything. When it becomes a bother, that’s when I screw on the antenna and flip the switch.
“I guess I’m taking the law into my own hands and quite frankly, I’m proud of it.”
While he doesn’t target people who keep their voices at a decent level his tactics are a breach of federal law which makes it illegal to interrupt communications channels that can be used for crucial emergency purposes.
In the meantime city transportation officials say their buses are impervious to Eric’s type of cellular frequency jamming.
If Eric is ever caught and prosecuted he could face fines up to $16,000 and possible even serve some times behind bars. It’s likely however that Eric won’t be caught, after learning about the fines and federal law mandates he quickly ditched the device.
If he wants another proven technique perhaps he should just pretend to be talking even louder on his own cell phone to show how loud and annoying the other person is being.
Do you think Eric is a hero or a law breaking nuisance?
