Welcome to the new America: Government starts spying on cell phone users and YOU ARE at risk!

The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the U.S. government is flying planes overhead equipped with devices that enable them to collect data from millions of mobile phones.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The device is called a "dirtbox" and is used to mimic mobile phone tower transmissions. This causes handsets to transmit back the location, registration info and identity data of the phone.

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These devices are supposedly used to track a specific target, but if active, all mobile devices in the area will respond to the signal.

The Wall Street Journal claimed to have spoken to a "source familiar with the program" but the U.S. Justice Department had refused to confirm or deny the report.

These devices are fitted onto Cessna aircraft and fly from at least five airports in the U.S.

The dirtboxes operate like the more famous Stingray surveillance device.

"The government have access to Stingray which is available off the shelf to spy on mobile phones but governments aren't the only ones. For (about $3,000) you can build your own," said Alan Woodward, a security expert.

These devices are known as IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) catchers, because they take the identification data that is sent by any mobile device.

"In essence, you spoof networks by pretending to be a cell tower. You turn off encryption, and then you can extract all sorts of info such as calls made, where, when etc etc. I'm not surprised to hear that it is going on," Woodward added.

"It's easily done. Doing it from the air is the obvious place to do it, but the question is under what legislation they are doing it and what are they doing with the data."

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