You don't need an ID or credit card to purchase a prepaid cell phone or top up cards. Both can be purchased with cash. There isn't a Federal Law in existence (yet) mandating retailers to keep identification records of people who buy the cards or phones. People often give fake names when registering their phones.
The New York Times
It's Not Just Drug Dealers Who Buy Prepaid Phones
By Jim Dwyer
Published: May 28, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/nyregion/30about.html
From my years in the phone industry, Id say that most of the people who want the prepaid phones without giving their names are drug dealers, or guys who say, I want a phone but I dont want my wife to know about it, said Zeke James, who sells AT&T phones on the Upper West Side."
We ask for their name, but if they say they are Abe Lincoln, thats what we put down, said Ricardo Tavarez, a salesman at a T-Mobile shop in Washington Heights. Out of 10 customers, two will want to know why they have to give their name for a prepaid phone. Its better to have it if they need to contact customer service.
Under the new bill, anyone buying a prepaid phone would have to give identification, and retailers would have to keep the records for 18 months. The sponsors, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said that anonymous phones give an advantage to gangsters and terrorists.
Wikipedia
Prepaid mobile phone
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepaid_mobile_phone"]Prepaid mobile phone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
A concern of police and security agencies worldwide is that prepaid mobile services allow the user to be anonymous and therefore facilitate criminal, or terrorist activities. Prepaid phone users can be anonymous for two reasons:
the prepaid SIM card can be sold in a shop like any other goods. There is no need to register them at point of sale, unlike postpaid phones who have to credit check the user before allowing them to purchase and enter into a contract.
Because prepaid services can often be topped up using cash and vouchers, there is no way to trace the payment and hence determine the identity of a prepaid phone user from payment records.
In th Public Safety Committee of the Suffolk County Legislature minutes for May 5, 2011,
Long Island Gasoline Retailer Association discuss IR1266, a *Proposed* Local Law requiring all retailers of prepaid cellular phones in Suffolk County to collect and keep identifying information from a customer purchasing a prepaid cell phone.
Thanks to rodent69 for hooking us up with the link to the minutes!
http://legis.suffolkcountyny.gov/clerk/cmeet/ps/2011/PS050511.pdf
Prepaid cell phones and top-up cards can be purchased online. Some online retailers who sell these phones and cards also accept Paypal. I found retailers who cell prepaid cell phones and accept PayPal by doing a Google search.
Howstuffworks
How PayPal Works
http://money.howstuffworks.com/paypal3.htm
However, PayPal's success quickly drew the attention of hackers, scam artists and organized crime groups, who used the service for frauds and money laundering.
Since 2002, PayPal has remained a steady leader in providing online transaction services.
**In short, the LI perp could of used disposable cell phones without leaving any trail**