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Could Virgin Mobile Have Saved Eliot Spitzer?

In the wake of the Eliot Spitzer scandal, there have been some informative articles on how technology led to the downfall of New York State's governor. Virgin Mobile took advantage of the tech angle and crafted an ad that lampoons Spitzer. It's pure marketing genius. Spitzer, a.k.a. Client #9, could have avoided some trouble if he'd only used a pre-paid phone from an MVNO such as Virgin.

Virgin Mobile Canada decided to have a little fun at Spitzer's expense. In an advertisement (viewable here), it shows a picture of Eliot Spitzer. Floating above him is a text bubble that reads "I'm tired of being treated like a number..."

Below the picture is some ad copy from the Virgin marketing team that says, "At Virgin Mobile, you're more than just a number. When you call us we'll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you're #9 or #900, you'll get hooked up with somebody who'll finally treat you just how you want to be treated." Beautiful.

Getting back to the idea of technology leading to Spitzer's downfall...

As I am sure anyone who has been following the story knows, Spitzer started moving funds around. That's what actually caught the eye of the feds. Whether he was transferring funds to hide the $80,000 he ended up spending on illicit meetings with prostitutes is not yet entirely clear. But it was suspicious enough to warrant an investigation. I doubt the team checking up on the Guv'nah had any idea where it would lead them. Oh, the sparkle that must have appeared in their eyes when they finally realized what was going on.

Some have suggested that the governor was just terrible at hiding his tracks. Here is one place where Virgin -- or other companies like it -- could have helped. Spitzer, you should have used a pre-paid cell phone. Using your own phone, or any phone that could be traced back to you, was just dumb. (So was sleeping with prostitutes, but that's a different story.) Drug dealers know this. How could a former attorney general and governor not understand it?

He could have walked into any number of places, grabbed a pre-paid phone off the shelf, paid cash for it, and had it activated. He would have walked out the door with no one knowing who the number belongs to. Why do you think pre-paid phones are so popular with criminals? Because they are anonymous.

Granted, I don't personally think a pre-paid phone would have saved Spitzer in this case. Other factors were involved. But c'mon, man, you could have used just a little more common sense.

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