Each phone or smartphone has its own IMEI (unique serial number), which is registered in the mobile operator’s network after installing a SIM and the first communication (call, message, Internet connection). Using IMEI, you can:
- track the location of the device;
- block it;
- get information about the subscriber.
Location data, account replenishment, information on calls and messages, as well as data transfers — all this can be stored on the billing server for a long time.
If we talk about billing in SORM, then most often we are talking about the history of messages and calls, as well as the movement of the subscriber. Moreover, the accuracy of determining the subscriber’s location is quite high.
SORM solutions
In any case, billing allows you to quickly find both the device itself and its owner. Billing services can only be used by law enforcement officers, and in many cases exclusively by court order.
The principle of operation of the billing system
If you need to find a specific subscriber, the owner of a certain phone number or device, this procedure looks something like this:
- The “home location registry” — HLR database contains information on all subscribers assigned to this database.
- By sending a request to establish the location of a specific subscriber, it is found in a specific HLR, after which the mobile network redirects this data to the switching center — MSC.
- The MSC requests information from the VLR’s guest location register about the last base station (BS) to which the subscriber’s phone was connected.
- The subscriber’s location is linked to the location of the BS.
No such search is performed without using additional data. In the case of billing during the SORM process, law enforcement officers can access:
- call history;
- messages;
- incoming/outgoing calls;
- the volume of received/transmitted data;
- duration of calls;
- their cost , etc.
All of the above data is stored by the switching node, and then sent to the central server for calculation and storage. The billing company’s server software processes huge amounts of data and stores all data about the subscriber.
The billing center’s database also stores:
- tariffs;
- bonuses;
- contract details;
- the cost of communication services;
- payments.
Billing in SORM
All actions of the suspect are recorded by the mobile operator. As soon as the phone turns on, it starts transmitting data to the nearest BS. This allows you to determine the location of a person.
As part of the billing process, it is also possible to identify all outgoing connections of the suspect. This is how persons who may be involved in a criminal offense are identified.
In addition, during the investigation of the crime scene, billing can quickly identify subscribers who were present at that place at the time of the crime.