Part-129

  James nodded in uanding. "That makes se's like having a virtual phone hat follows you wherever you go."

  "Well, enjoy your trip," James said. "Stay safe, and don't fet to e back before midterms."

  "Will do," Emdad replied. "Talk to you ter."

  With that, the call ended. James was left p the implications of this new information. If people could easily obtain phone numbers without needing a SIM card, it would make trag online scammers even more difficult.

  After school, James, Ryan, and Sourov found a quiet er in a nearby café. "So, I found out something iing," James began, sharing the details of his versation with Emdad. "There's an app called SV hat lets you get a phone number without a SIM card. You just need an NID tister."

  Ryan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's crazy! So, anyone get a phone number without being traced?"

  Sourov's face turned grim. "That makes it even harder to catch these scammers."

  "True," James agreed. "But at least we know one more thing about them."

  They fell into a ptive silence, each lost ihoughts. "How do we find out whiID card was used to open the app?" Sourov asked, breaking the silence.

  It was a good question, ohat none of them had an ao. Trag down an NID card based on a phone number seemed like an impossible task. They were back to square one.

  "It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack," Ryan muttered, frustration creeping into his voice. "How we even start?"

  Sourov leaned forward, his eyes narrowed in tration. "Maybe we could try to hato the SV Number app's database?" he suggested, a hint of recklessness in his voice.

  James shook his head. "That's too risky. We could get into serious trouble if we get caught."

  "But it's worth a shot," Sourued. "We could find out who's behind these scams."

  Ryaated. "I don't know, man. Hag is illegal."

  James interjected, "We're not talking about hag into a gover database. This is a private pany. It's a different situation."

  "But still," Ryan said, "it's a risky move."

  They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in thought. The problem seemed insurmountable.

  "Sigh... Oh well, nothing be done. Let just hato it..." Ryan said, he ot think about anything good.

  James then smiled and asked, "So, who among us knows anything about hag?"

  Sourov shrugged and replied, "I don't."

  James sighed, "Me her. And I'm guessing Ryan 't either. So, it looks like we're back to square one."

  "I guess you're right," Ryan ceded, a hint of disappoi in his voice. "Hag is definitely not our strong suit."

  Sourov nodded in agreement. "We're good at fighting, not g," he said with a shrug.

  James houghtfully. "We'll have to think outside the box. Maybe we find someone who does know how to hack or e up with an alternative strategy."

  Ryan agreed. "Let's brainstorm and figure out our move. We 't let this setback stop us."

  A heavy silence fell over the group. They were at a dead end. No matter how they looked at it, the problem seemed insurmountable.