Cellphone surveillance

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Cellphone spying may involve the tracking, bugging, monitoring and interception of conversations and text messages on cell phones.

Cellphone spying software

Cellphone spying software is a type of cellphone bugging, tracking, and monitoring software that is installed on a person's cellphone usually without them knowing about it. Cellphone spying software allows a person to stalk a target cellphone from a remotely location with one of the following techniques:[1]

  • Remotely turning on the cellphone's microphone in order to capture and forward conversations to a remote location for observation. The microphone can be activated during a call or when the phone is on standby for capturing conversations near the cellphone.
  • Receiving remote alerts and/or text messages each time somebody dials a number on the cellphone.
  • Allowing remote observation of the target cellphone position in real-time on a map.
  • Remotely reading text messages
  • Remotely reading cellphone call log.

A recent NBC reported the following cellphone spying software packages for sale on craigslist for less than 30 dollars: Mobile-Spy, World-tracker, Flexispy, Spyphone.

"We installed the software on a colleague's phone,... We were able to intercept and listen in to a live phone call without her knowledge, and she didn't even have to be on the phone for us to spy on her. We could also turn her phone into a remote listening device no matter where she was. If the phone was on, we heard everything she said."[2]

Hidden cellphone stalking

Dataline NBC reported in 2013, the use of cellphones with GPS tracking software being wired into the car battery and hidden under the dash. This setup was used to stalk and harass a young mother.[3]

"So every time you started the car, the phone would charge.
And it's set to auto answer so it doesn't ring. The minute it gets a signal
it opens a line. It's right behind the dash, it's right by the driver,
you can then hear when you call in, anything that's happening in that
car."[4]

Detection of hidden cellphones

Scanning the room with a gaussmeter to measure the magnetic field generated by electronic devices is the best way to find a hidden cellphone bug. Electromagnetic radiation meters are less effective at finding cellphone bugs since they can only detect a hidden cellphone when the cellphone is transmitting which may be only once a day for brief or intermittent periods of time to download tracking data. For faster detection it is best to turn off the building power supply or disconnect car batteries when sweeping for cellphone bugs to avoid magnetic fields generated by friendly electronics and electrical fixtures. Disconnecting the main cable and phone line also aides in bug sweeps since they wires are hot with signalling fields. A favorite place to hide a cellphone bug by foreign intelligence services is inside a dead cell of a car battery, since batteries are not checkable with a field meter. If your car is still getting tracked then you might try changing the car battery. Another method of finding hidden cellphone bugs involved use of a Nonlinear junction detector which can detect cellphone electronics even if the device is switched off.

Detection of cellphone spying

  • The screen lights up for no reason
  • The flash on the camera goes off when you're not taking a picture
  • You notice ambient noise in the background when you're on a phone call
  • You repeatedly get strange text messages from an unknown origin

Prevention of cellphone spying

  • Never let your cellphone out of your control. Example, never leave your cellphone unattended in your car where cellphone hijackers can easily break in.
  • Use a password on your phone.

See also

References

  1. ^ how to spy on a cell phone without having access, Recent Eyewitness News, ABC
  2. ^ Cell Phone Spying Nightmare, ABC News, March 8, 2010
  3. ^ T Dateline NBC crime report
  4. ^ Detective Liz Faith, dataline NBC, 2013

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cellphone_surveillance&oldid=599617842"