Criminals use so-called Russian, encrypted, or white SIMs to change their phone number, add voice manipulation to their calls, and try to stay ahead of law enforcement.
The unsolicited call came from France. Or at least that's what my phone said. When I picked up, a man asked if I worked with the National Crime Agency, the UK's version of the FBI. When I explained, no, as a journalist I don't give information to the police, he said why he had contacted me.
"There are these special SIM cards out there," he said, referring to the small piece of hardware that slips inside a cell phone. "I'm actually ringing from one now," he added, before later explaining he runs an underground site that sells these cards.
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