How to check your phone for wiretapping

Smartphones are not just an accessory for an active, business person. Owners trust this device with personal and work conversations, sms-correspondence and communication using various instant messengers. Pictures, videos and other files that are not intended for prying eyes are stored in the phone’s memory and on the flash card. Therefore, it is important to take care not only of not losing your smartphone or having it stolen, but also about protecting the data on it.

How do spies steal information, what malfunctions to pay attention to and how to check the phone for wiretapping?

How is the wiretapping of mobile phones?

To check if a phone is being tapped , you need to know how intruders can connect to it. There are three ways:

1. Fraudsters will install malicious software on the phone. Thanks to wireless communications and special hacking software, users of almost any level can use this method. Using viruses of a certain type, criminals can steal and destroy the personal data of the owner of the smartphone and other information stored on the phone. So, the encryption system can be changed by hackers or turned off altogether. Such software can get on a gadget:

• via MMS messages;
• via mobile internet;
• using bluetooth;
• via Wi-Fi connection;
• when the owner connects the smartphone to the computer.

Hacking programs can turn on the microphone and the criminal will receive information from within a radius of 100 meters from the owner of the phone.

2. Wiretapping of phones using special mobile devices. Such systems usually consist of a computer or laptop and two telephones with special modifications. It seems to some that such equipment is easy to operate and available to almost any user. This is not true. Only a professional signalman can handle such equipment. You will have to pay for the system up to several hundred thousand dollars.

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3. This method is the most expensive. For wiretapping, special complexes are used, the price of which starts from several hundred thousand dollars. This technique is sold semi-legally. It can only be serviced by signalmen with professional education and experience. This method is used to listen to other people’s conversations in real time.

Indicators of wiretapping

To determine a wiretap, you need to pay attention to the following 7 details:

1. The smartphone seems to “gurgle” at the moments when it is next to electronics – computer speakers , TV . Interference is natural if you are using the device at this moment. But when the phone is idle, there is reason to think.
2. The gadget “independently” turns on and off, re-registers on the Web. If the user inattentively installed and configured unverified applications and programs, this situation is normal. In the opposite case, the device can be operated without the knowledge of the owner.
3. The battery should not heat up if the phone is not used for a while. Hidden running programs can overheat the battery. It is possible that spyware.
4. The wiretapping is indicated by the mobile screen, which does not turn off when the device is turned off. Or the phone itself cannot turn off for an unusually long time. But such failures can be the result of installing software without a license and other software errors.

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5. The battery is being discharged faster than usual. A gradual decrease in battery capacity after a year of using the device is the norm. Trouble of this kind with the new phone speaks of the included microphone and continuous recording of conversations.
6. In a smartphone that supports the operation of two SIM cards, an unknown operator appears, signed with several numbers.
7. Echo or crackling in the speaker during a conversation confirms the fact of eavesdropping.

How do I know if my phone is tapped?

If the concern about the possible wiretapping of the mobile causes discomfort, you can contact the service operator for help. The telephone company most likely owns the equipment to test the line. It is worth going to the police if there is evidence of espionage activity.

There are also programs for smartphones that help to find out if the current conversation is encrypted or accessible to intruders:

1. Checking the phone for wiretapping using EAGLE Security FREE. The program analyzes the location and identifies stations. A useful feature is the study of applications that secretly use the camera and microphone, and the ability to block access to the camera .
2. Using Darshak, it is possible to detect programs and applications that send text messages without the user’s knowledge.
3. For advanced owners, there is an Android IMSI-Catcher Detector program. You need to find and download it yourself. This application is not in Google Play, but it will save the gadget from fake base stations. CatcherCatcher has the same functionality.

It should be noted that the programs created for verification and safety are compatible only with modern gadgets. Unfortunately, you can’t put them on simple mobile phones. But, using special protective software, smartphone owners will be able to protect personal data and conversations from strangers.