Cell Phone Data: The Blame Game

Today, about everyone has a cell phone always on them. While everyone can agree that cell phones are very useful to have, not many realize the ways in which their cell phone can help them protect their freedom. Let’s look at a case involving a minor car accident where cell phone and cell tower data came into play. 

John Doe was traveling from an airport on holiday when he was involved in a car accident with another driver. The opposing party stated that just before the accident had occurred, they had looked in their rearview mirror and saw John Doe on his cell phone. Since it was believed that John Doe was at fault for the accident, the opposing party’s car insurance requested the cell tower data on his phone to be able to determine whether he was in fact on his phone at the time of or just before the accident. 

When the insurance company received the cell tower data back, it showed conclusively that John Doe’s phone was actively transmitting or receiving data and that he was, in fact, at fault. Although the cell tower data concluded that he was using his cell phone, John Doe’s attorney recently learned of the discrepancies in cell tower data and knew he had to ask for something much more in-depth than a cell tower data report. John Doe’s attorney contacted a digital forensic company to do a full extraction on his client’s phone to determine whether he was truly using his cell phone just before or at the time of the crash. 

Once the digital forensic company received John Doe’s cell phone, they got to work extracting and analyzing all the data. Once the extraction and analysis were completed, the company sent the data and report securely to John Doe’s attorney. They determined that John Doe was not using his cell phone just before or at the time of the crash; only an audiobook that was playing through the car’s hands-free Bluetooth feature. 

Luckily for John Doe, his attorney was knowledgeable enough of today’s technology to be able to effectively represent him and clear his name. Had his attorney not been knowledgeable, John Doe could be stuck with several financial burdens and a false driving record. Thanks to digital forensics, John Doe and his attorney were able to prove his innocence and move on with life.