1. That's it, if you don't use phones for your criminal activities, most modern technological surveillance techniques will not be effective against you.

2. There were a lot of non-fictional organizations that ran just fine without any modern means. Genghis Khan conquered a lot of countries without relying on radio for communications or satellites for reconnaissance. Using a WhatsApp-like chat apps to communicate about criminal activities is very convenient, but opens a new vector of attack against you.