#595: How to Detect Fake Cell Towers Near You

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Learn how fake cell towers and Stingray-style devices can be used to track phones, capture metadata, and monitor cellular activity.

OTW joins David Bombal to demonstrate how SDR tools such as HackRF, RTL-SDR, DragonOS, and Falcon can be used to scan nearby cell towers and investigate suspicious signals. They look at how 4G and 5G networks work, why mobile networks still expose valuable metadata, how IMSI catchers operate, and what suspicious or rogue cell towers may look like.

They also discuss SS7 vulnerabilities, mobile network attacks, Signal, GrapheneOS, and practical steps you can take to better protect your communications.

Topics covered:

How to scan for nearby cell towers

How fake cell towers and Stingrays work

Detecting suspicious cell towers with SDR

HackRF and RTL-SDR

DragonOS and Falcon

IMSI catchers and phone tracking

4G and 5G security