76% of women who are killed by a man they know, are first stalked by that man. Jennifer G. is one of the few who ended up on the lucky end of this statistic.

Jennifer’s traumatic story began when she received a Facebook message from a man she had attended high school with nearly 16 years earlier.

The Facebook messages started with things like “How have you been?” Within a week, it was, “I am desperately in love with you. I worship you like a goddess. I will do anything for you.” In two months, the man sent 6,000 Facebook messages to Jennifer.

After being blocked from her Facebook page, the man tracked down Jennifer’s phone number. He then sent her 34,000 text messages because she blocked his phone calls.

One day, Jennifer’s stalker was seen sitting outside her house waiting for her to come home. Jennifer notified police who immediately responded. The man was sitting in his car with flowers.

After his arrest, the man was convicted of felony stalking and sentenced to three years probation. Sadly, Jennifer knew this wouldn’t stop him so she changed her phone number, moved, and found a new job.

This stalker started his obsession with Jennifer on social media and he knew how to track her when she was out shopping, including tracking when and where she did her grocery shopping.

Since her stalker knew about all her social media accounts, as well as her phone number, he used this information to track her phone.

The reality is, anyone who ever finds themselves in a situation like Jennifer needs to take extreme precautions including ditching their smartphone.

This is the exact type of situation where you want to consider using a burner phone. Whether it’s avoiding a crazy stalker or simply wanting to keep phone calls private, a burner phone is one of the most secure ways to communicate.

What is a burner phone?

In the espionage world, when an agent or asset has been compromised, they are commonly referred to as being “burned.” In other words, they are no longer trustworthy as the adversary is on to them and most likely following them.

Similarly, a burner phone is a phone that can be discarded after use or when it’s been “burned.” You could use the phone for a week and smash it with a hammer and dispose of it in five different trashcans to protect your identity.

These phones are usually purchased with a set number of minutes on the phone that you pay for in advance. Since they are prepaid phones they don’t require a contract or any type of monthly fee since you pay for it all at the time of purchase.

Where to buy a burner phone?

These phones can be purchased at many different big box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens (this is where I bought one last week), and 7-11.

You want to avoid buying these phones at places such as a Verizon or T-Mobile store as they typically require more personal information.

How to avoid sharing your information.

The most important thing to remember is that you want to purchase a prepaid phone, not just a phone without a contract.

When looking at phones, ensure the retailer doesn’t ask for any information such as your credit card so they can bill you later.

Of course, you want to purchase the prepaid phone with cash and never provide the store with a debit or credit card.

Unlike standard cell phone plans, you do not need to undergo a credit check, give your full name and address or show your ID. Buying and activating a prepaid cell phone can be completely anonymous.

While buying your phone at the store, ask the store clerk to activate the phone for you. This usually requires simple information such as the SIM card number, but doesn’t require any personal information from you.

Finally, if for some reason the store is unable to activate your burner phone, this is something you can do yourself by going to the cell providers website.

If this is the case, make sure you are using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when going to online to prevent any tracking.

While I was purchasing my burner phone last week, the store clerk told me she asked a previous customer buying a prepaid phone what his name was and he simply responded, “I’m George Clooney.”