Warning to all terbites crossing the border!!!
- Thread starter stinkynuts
- Start date
I'm not saying it can't or shouldn't be done (encryption) and of course they won't keep you indefinitely - they can't and don't want to. But, by not giving them what they ask for they think you are hiding something and at the very least will deny you entry.
If you went to the trouble to get to there border, either by car or by airplane, is it really worth the cost / hassle to be turned around and told to go home?
Even from TO you've spent at least an hour or more to get there (including wait time at the border).
Some info on password locks and locking your phone:
you should always lock your phone in case you leave it at a bar or on public transit etc. That's all the password is good for... to make sure nobody reads your stuff if they randomly find your phone.
This is of NO use at the border though. They do have devices to bypass the passwords. They usually don't have to do that... the threat of denying you entry, locking you up, and siezing all your stuff including your phone/tablet/car is usually enough to get people to give out their password.
They have a device the size of a small suitcase. It opens up and has about 100 connectors which allow the device to plug into any type of phone. They plug your phone in and bam, they have a copy of all your data. They can then go through it with the device at their leisure. It allows them to preload certain words (escort, gay, underage, etc.) and it can scan your phone for those words in seconds. Better hope you dont have a file called underage-hot-girl.jpg on your phone or you're screwed! Even the word appearing in an email is found very quickly.
If you really want to avoid this hassle, store your stuff in the cloud. Google Drive, Gmail, etc. Then unload the app from your phone if you're really worried. You can store all the porn you want in Google Drive, then just unload or sign out of the G Drive app on your phone before crossing the border.
Another way to avoid detection is what's called "plausible deniability". That means you have a hotmail account with a bunch of emails in it, yet you really use gmail. If you delete the Gmail icon/app, they would normally be suspicious because who has a smartphone with no email? Instead they find the hotmail account with a bunch of innocent messages in it and they dig through that, not knowing you really use gmail.
I have been asked by Canada Customs for my eBay receipt, then I saw the guy go in the back and pull up eBay on the computer and search for all purchases under my username. He was trying to see if I bought a watch, iPhone, set of tires, or anything else I didn't declare. You can bet your ass if I had bought a Gucci watch on eBay (undeclared) and was wearing an identical watch I'd be screwed and/or in jail right now
Don't underestimate these guys. Password lock on your phone is the same as a $5 bike lock on your bike parked in downtown Detroit. It will stop the casual joker/passerby, but anyone who wants to get in will get in within a minute or two....
you should always lock your phone in case you leave it at a bar or on public transit etc. That's all the password is good for... to make sure nobody reads your stuff if they randomly find your phone.
This is of NO use at the border though. They do have devices to bypass the passwords. They usually don't have to do that... the threat of denying you entry, locking you up, and siezing all your stuff including your phone/tablet/car is usually enough to get people to give out their password.
They have a device the size of a small suitcase. It opens up and has about 100 connectors which allow the device to plug into any type of phone. They plug your phone in and bam, they have a copy of all your data. They can then go through it with the device at their leisure. It allows them to preload certain words (escort, gay, underage, etc.) and it can scan your phone for those words in seconds. Better hope you dont have a file called underage-hot-girl.jpg on your phone or you're screwed! Even the word appearing in an email is found very quickly.
If you really want to avoid this hassle, store your stuff in the cloud. Google Drive, Gmail, etc. Then unload the app from your phone if you're really worried. You can store all the porn you want in Google Drive, then just unload or sign out of the G Drive app on your phone before crossing the border.
Another way to avoid detection is what's called "plausible deniability". That means you have a hotmail account with a bunch of emails in it, yet you really use gmail. If you delete the Gmail icon/app, they would normally be suspicious because who has a smartphone with no email? Instead they find the hotmail account with a bunch of innocent messages in it and they dig through that, not knowing you really use gmail.
I have been asked by Canada Customs for my eBay receipt, then I saw the guy go in the back and pull up eBay on the computer and search for all purchases under my username. He was trying to see if I bought a watch, iPhone, set of tires, or anything else I didn't declare. You can bet your ass if I had bought a Gucci watch on eBay (undeclared) and was wearing an identical watch I'd be screwed and/or in jail right now
Don't underestimate these guys. Password lock on your phone is the same as a $5 bike lock on your bike parked in downtown Detroit. It will stop the casual joker/passerby, but anyone who wants to get in will get in within a minute or two....
The passlock is what saved me. Had it not been for that, I guarantee you that the officer would have gone through my phone, and found my terb activity as well as searches that would have landed me in jail, no doubt. Had they really wanted to get in, they would have, but fortunately they didn't go that far.
I could have been arrested, and interrogated for hours. It would have been a nightmare.
I could have been arrested, and interrogated for hours. It would have been a nightmare.
The central idea of the protocol is that it enables you to cooperate to the utmost of your ability, honestly and sincerely, but the data remains secure. If it is a corporate security policy, you would be able to share documentation on the policy with them, which would be confirmed by corporate IT people they could call.
As a personal policy it gets dicier but still at the end of the day their power of search does not extend to information not with you at the border and there isn't any US immigration regulation that you are violating.
On modern android phones you can encrypt the whole device, which then requires your password to turn on the phone. They MIGHT be able to bypass the lock screen, but if your phone were encrypted and switched off there is little they could do without you providing the password.
Trust me CBSA can be just as big or bigger pricks than Customs/ Border Patrol. I do a fair bit of boarder hopping, born in Mexico but my parents were US citizens and have spent too much time in Canada (ex-wife is Canadian). I have lived and travelled in all three and my advice is have a hobby phone and clear it out or leave it at home. Laptops are checked more often then you think so instead of clearing browsing history use "in private" or secure setting that does not log cookies. To clean of a browsing history is a red flag to some of them. My advice is have typical stuff on there and no adult material stronger than Sports illustrated swimsuit or sunshine girl stuff. They can and will ask for the password and will look through emails, texts as well as any documents. They are checking for evidence of working without permits or criminal activity.
If you have a little black book, code it. If not for customs than at least the prying eyes of a S.O. Mine is done to look like rental car fuel mileage logs. Since 9/11 things have gotten worse as far as the intrusions on ordinary people. Remember that the job they have is challenging. They are not just looking for the next of Osama's martyrs but for drug and currency smuggling, weapons (CBSA), weapons of mass destruction (CBP), restricted technologies, banned products (food) and a ton of other things.
Key things to remember. #1 Have your documents ready, #2 Have where, why and how long you will be there for memorized and have it be logical and simple. #3 Eye contact and no sunglasses on. #4 Answer as simply as possible, if a yes or no will answer the question use yes or no. #5 Be cool, pretend it is the drive through. #6 Be polite, show respect to them, the A-holes crave that, if you deny them you are in for a rough ride. #6 Never offer a bribe.
I get hassled by CBSA more often than CBP and never by Aduanas Mexicanas.
Happy 4th of July!!!!
If you have a little black book, code it. If not for customs than at least the prying eyes of a S.O. Mine is done to look like rental car fuel mileage logs. Since 9/11 things have gotten worse as far as the intrusions on ordinary people. Remember that the job they have is challenging. They are not just looking for the next of Osama's martyrs but for drug and currency smuggling, weapons (CBSA), weapons of mass destruction (CBP), restricted technologies, banned products (food) and a ton of other things.
Key things to remember. #1 Have your documents ready, #2 Have where, why and how long you will be there for memorized and have it be logical and simple. #3 Eye contact and no sunglasses on. #4 Answer as simply as possible, if a yes or no will answer the question use yes or no. #5 Be cool, pretend it is the drive through. #6 Be polite, show respect to them, the A-holes crave that, if you deny them you are in for a rough ride. #6 Never offer a bribe.
I get hassled by CBSA more often than CBP and never by Aduanas Mexicanas.
Happy 4th of July!!!!
Absolutely perfect advice that I follow myself and it makes it so much easier. The only thing I might add is... Do not try to chat them up, nothing beyond the usual, hi how are you, pleasantries.
The US is a Police State ever since 911 and getting worse. What do you think the mega prisons are for ? Bill C-=36 ? Spying has always been about Governments abusing it's citizenry. It's never about stopping the War on Drugs or War on Terror. I read last year over 5,000 US citizens were killed by Police. How many US terrorists did they catch ?
BS
BS
There are exceptions to that. I was coming back from Detroit in car with 5 guys, all of whom were bringing in far more tobacco and alcohol than was permitted. The border officer didn't seem all that friendly and pulled out a form of some kind. I noticed he had the radio on the Tigers game (during the playoffs) Asked him what the score was, Detroit was winning. "Nice...hate the Yankees!. He grins a little, the form was put away and on we went.
The reason why you were detained could have been as simple as you were randomly picked for inspection. Thats probably why they were not overly interested in your cell or asking for your password - they would have if they had found something interesting in the car.
The random stop thing happened to me in Windsor with the CBSA. In the booth there was a trainee and a supervisor - they couldn't have cared less about my answers to my questions. The pull over for inspection yellow slip of paper was already filled out except for my plate number when I got to the booth. They found nothing.
Good lesson why to keep crap out of your phone in the future. Its something I'll have to make sure I do too.
Excellent advice. As for warrants can you imagine the chaos is they had to approach a judge for every occasion they ask you to open your trunk. You are entering their country, they have every right to conduct any inspection to prevent harm or criminal activities into their country. Also realize that Canada & the US share criminal information so if you have been convicted in Canada - you are not entering a country with an entirely clean slate.
Something that I learned in a different life time doing work for the local LE communications network. Going back a few years, if you hang out or have a known affiliation with criminals you can serve as a 'pointer'. You are not wanted but a cop will carefully check anybody that you are hanging out with.
i always delete browser history and delete all texts related to hobbying (I do a lot of texting with sps) and delete my call history in case there any any known SPs numbers on there that I might have been in contact with. I don't care if they see texts related to my work or between friends and family, I got nothing to hide there. They actually did search my phone one time and found nothing. I was free to go.
I was told by Canadian Airport Customs that they don't care if you are there to see an escort. This was after I didn't give a sufficient enough answer in the customs agents view as to why I was visiting Toronto. In Montreal they are much less anal and don't question that you are there for a good time. At a US border crossing after being detained for a half hour by a couple of clowns playing good cop bad cop I admitted that my trip to Toronto was to see girls and they told me I should have just said that in the first place and they let me go. They treat you with the assumption that you are going wherever to do something illegal. Bunch of dick heads.
Correction Riley v. California addressed the issue of Police not the border. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-132_8l9c.pdf
Fuji though perhaps put it more eloquently "before they grant you entry to the US [and he could have also said Canada] you are in a no man's land where you lack these basic rights.
A lot depends on the person you get while crossing. Everyone has good and bad days - luck of the draw.
Going to the US, I was stuck behind a car waiting to for it to clear before proceeding. The guy hands his documents to the guard and instantly there are four guys with handguns drawn at each corner of his car. Being 50ft or so behind the guy was not a good feeling when you can image bullets flying around. The scene was just like in the movies, he had to put his car keys on the ground and get on his knees with his hands on his head. After the dust settled and it was my turn (took 1/2 hour till they towed his vehicle), I asked, "um, sorry to be nosey, but what just happened?" all I was told was he had an outstanding warrant.
Coming back to Canada always seems to be a bigger headache than going to the US.
Forgive me since this is based only on my experience, but, I've found that female guards always seem to have something more to prove when compared to their male counterparts. I now have this dread whenever I pull up to the booth and see a woman there.
