[adventured]

That's incorrect.

It's illegal for you to do something like this. Very illegal. They would likely arrest you for attempting to purchase one, even if you had done nothing wrong. You could try to sue them, but then you can do that at any time; trying is never the problem, the consequences are.

It's not a situation where they were granted permission to do it, in a Constitutionally friendly sort of way.

These are extra-legal programs, where nobody will get in trouble regardless of the context, and they're simply saying: just try to stop us.

[jacquesm]

Why is receiving data openly transmitted on the airwaves illegal?

[lawnchair_larry]

These aren't passive devices. They have to "stomp" on AT&T's signal to get your phone to associate with them, then spoof as the carrier.

There is a loophole though - if you target a phone with the correct bands, one of the european bands is a ham radio band in the US, so licensed operators can play around that way.

Also, the DIY version is about $1000.

[emddudley]

Ask Google about their Street View wardriving project... an appeals court ruled that it violated the Wiretap Act.

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/threatlevel_0401_streetview/

[anigbrowl]

That was quite different though, because Google was (inadvertently) recording packet data as well as SSIDs. It's right there in the 3rd paragraph.