History of numbers stations

According to information obtained by The Conet Project (a research group that in 1999 released a four-disc album containing recordings of over 150 transmissions from numbers stations around the world), information about numbers stations appeared as early as World War I, making them among the oldest radio transmissions. It was believed that these stations were operated by government agencies to communicate with secret spies, agents, intelligence agencies, and so on. This would explain the need to obscure their source and origin, as well as the need to encrypt the messages. According to this theory, the messages transmitted during the broadcasts were encrypted using a one-time pad to avoid the risk of deciphering by the enemy. Evidence supporting this theory was provided by the fact that numbers stations often changed certain elements of their broadcasts and that they appeared suddenly, in conjunction with important political events.

Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton wrote about the espionage use of numbers stations in their book "Spycraft." One-way voice messaging was a covert communication system that allowed messages to be sent to an unmodified radio receiver operating in the 3-30 MHz range. Transmissions consisted of a series of repeated strings of numbers and could only be deciphered using a disposable code book. This system was relatively secure because it did not require the use of sophisticated reception equipment—a regular radio was sufficient for a government agent.

Other researchers believe that some of the numbers stations may be used by people involved in drug and other smuggling. This would explain the irregularity of some broadcasts.

However, numbers stations have been broadcasting for decades, so most researchers assume they are sponsored solely by government agencies. Support for this theory is the fact that numbers stations require a relatively high-power transmitter to be heard. Such devices are unavailable to households, so the theory that numbers stations are used by smugglers is now dismissed.

There's another unusual theory that some of the transmissions are coming from ships and planes lost in the Bermuda Triangle. This theory, however, usually brings a genuine smile to your face.