Question Raspberry PI for Remote Access & SMS/OTPs

[lagloriacubana]

I've been thinking about how to manage OTPs across multiple jurisdictions without keeping your SIM card on roaming””especially in places like the UAE.

In Europe, I've tested remote access. Initially, I used it for advertising cloaking, but now it seems like a practical solution for handling banking tasks without triggering known VPNs. This method essentially provides a highly personal and unique VPN and very low risk you will be flagged as using the same IP/VPN that million other people use. Sending and receiving SMS also appears straightforward using https://github.com/geek-at/gammu-php

Has anyone else set up something similar? I'm particularly curious about the feasibility of remote access in the UAE, given their strict traffic filtering and blocking measures.

I plan to test this on my next trip, but I'd love to hear if anyone has experience with this kind of setup.

Last edited: Nov 16, 2024

 

[lagloriacubana]

It looks like it gets even better, you can program Raspberry PI to receive or make phone-calls: https://blog.haschek.at/2021/raspberry-pi-sms-gateway.html

While I don't have personal experience with this yet, I'm planning to give it a try. I'll be ordering a Raspberry Pi 5 to test the setup and see if it's possible to use a VOIP PBX for routing calls over the internet. For SMS, I can easily set up a webhook to instantly notify me of any incoming messages using that PHP script (GitHub Link Above).

With this setup, you could completely avoid needing a third-country number or paying excessive roaming fees. Additionally, since the phone number would be linked to a regular SIM, it wouldn't be flagged as a VOIP service number (unlike Twilio, which is often easily identified).

If anyone else has done such a thing, would be great to hear any input on my thinking.

 

[aniglo22]

Check if it even support the bands used in UAE.
I wouldn't use dongles it's better to use Simcom , Quectel or ublox . With dongles there is less documentation and it's harder to write something for it .
You can use https://github.com/IchthysMaranatha/asterisk-chan-quectel if you got the asterisk route .
You can use 3proxy or squid to setup an proxy or you can setup an VPN with wireguard.
If you have an static ip you can just use port forwarding and otherwise use DynamicDns.

 

[lagloriacubana]

aniglo22 said:
Check if it even support the bands used in UAE.
I wouldn't use dongles it's better to use Simcom , Quectel or ublox . With dongles there is less documentation and it's harder to write something for it .
You can use https://github.com/IchthysMaranatha/asterisk-chan-quectel if you got the asterisk route .
You can use 3proxy or squid to setup an proxy or you can setup an VPN with wireguard.
If you have a static ip you can just use port forwarding and otherwise use DynamicDns.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this is extremely helpful.

 

[brianK]

Sorry, my technical knowledge isn't quite sufficient to answer what you wrote, but why is this posted under the anonymity forum? Could you maybe explain that?

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Winners never quit and quitters never win....

 

[lagloriacubana]

Because this is a superior setup to using a public VPN (hence low risk of bank sites triggering anti fraud measures) and because you are not on roaming no one can trace that the SIM is being used in another country. Example: http://www.ataspain.com/en/spain-ch...-data-and-even-mobile-phone-repeater-signals/

And no effort is being spared in order to catch them. The methods range from trawling through ”˜big data' sources to border surveillance and even monitoring mobile phone network repeaters.

Since it would be illegal to geolocate the mobile device of an alleged false tax non-resident, what the Treasury does is look for traces and movements of the phones of possible offenders in the mobile network repeaters on the borders.

This practice is legally endorsed, say the AEAT itself, as it is not a matter of indiscriminately accessing and using the data, but only checking whether the mobile phone of the person under investigation has been connected to it.” They are specific solutions for specific cases”, says the tax agency.
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Or

The tax authorities track and monitor the digital footprint of taxpayers, including their activities on social networks, e-commerce platforms, and geolocation data. However, it can be challenging to provide evidence against these inspections as the owner of the IP address may not always be the actual user of the devices.
Click to expand...

https://costaluzlawyers.es/blog/hacienda-big-data-and-inspections-on-residency-in-spain/

Or, out of Spain: https://kluwertaxblog.com/2021/07/16/big-data-in-tax-administrations/

Big data is useless if there is no data in first place

Last edited: Nov 17, 2024

 

[Silverlake]

There's a few providers out there that offer dedicated sim cards without having the need to purchase your own hardware, take a look at https://virtualsim.net - I think this might be what you are looking for.

You can pay for the SIM cards using crypto and receive OTPs via their website.

 

[jon1234]

You can also use https://crypton.sh - they offer a web panel where you can send / receive SMS, and each subscription gives you a unique number (not shared). You can also pay with BTC.

Last edited: Dec 8, 2024

 

[daniels27]

@gentlemen recommends www.lazersms.com

gentlemen said:
Lazersms works amazing, even for financial services etc.
Click to expand...

 

[lagloriacubana]

Just to follow up here - I have been using Mac mini linked to an Ethernet cable and anydesk to access and use it remotely. OTPs I am getting via roaming so that's all good.

Only thing I would like to see if teamviewer pro or anydesk pro will work with mobile tunneling so apps see my IP not random data center IP.

https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works
Along with https://www.duckdns.org/faqs.jsp
Might be the solution.

However for desktop versions of sites (all except Wio) work fine - which I love since my other IPs never come on their record. Worst case I try with VPN dedicated IP how long till they flag it. But obviously I would prefer to route traffic though my Mac mini from my mobile.

 

[daniels27]

lagloriacubana said:
https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works
Along with https://www.duckdns.org/faqs.jsp
Might be the solution.
Click to expand...

Yes. You can use any VPN or proxy server on your Mac. This requires you to be able to set up port forwarding on you router back home and (unless you have a static IP) you will also need a dyndns service stick as the mentioned Duck DNS.

OpenVPN was long the first choice, with WireGuard being the new boy in school. Also note that many routers come with VPN already and you could potentially just use their service.
https://avm.de/service/vpn/

If you go through this route, you can actually use any VNC instead of Anydesk etc. bypassing any third-party server. Don't use VNC with OpenVPN as the protocols seem to have issues resulting in frequent disconnects.

There are quite a few available like this one:
https://www.noip.com/remote-access

Last edited: Mar 6, 2025

 

[happyjohn]

Silverlake said:
There's a few providers out there that offer dedicated sim cards without having the need to purchase your own hardware, take a look at https://virtualsim.net - I think this might be what you are looking for.

You can pay for the SIM cards using crypto and receive OTPs via their website.
Click to expand...

awesome, can I use the eSim as any other sim card for calls and texting ?

 

[daniels27]

happyjohn said:
awesome, can I use the eSim as any other sim card for calls and texting ?
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I think virtualsim.net has their own SIM housing hardware and just gives you the SMS content that arrives on the service you purchased. I think it is not eSIM.