How can I tell if my Phone has been tapped?

I have been thinkking about it, and I want to know, how would I know if my phone was being tapped? CAn someone tell me, and also, can a Cell Phone be tapped?

You would not know your phone was being tapped. If done legally by law enforcement then I guess you would learn about it in court afterward. The call would be intercepted passively at the telco's switch, you would not hear any *clic* on the line as portrayed in movies.

Even those off-the-shelves Harris-Dracon buttsets does not make any suspicious noise when clipped to the line, I've tried it, however I have no clue if this would tip off a voltage fluctuation detector.

Your cell phone can be tapped at the switch level as usual by law enforcement. Or a clever eavesdropper could intercept the radio signal with a scanner. GSM strongest A5/1 encryption can be broken with a personal computer. I don't know about iDEN or CDMA protocols, but chances are those algorithms are as weak as GSM.

As for VoIP, there already are a couples of Linux softwares floating around on the internet to intercept that thing.

Be afraid, very afraid! *Cue the Alfred Hitchcock's sound effect*

oh, ok thanks, but I was wondering, I thought they did the thing where they pop off the speaker piece of the phone, and put it in there, is that an old tactic, do they still even do that anymore?

If you are using VoIP, I strongly suggest that you go to a bookstore and pick up a book on VoIP hacks. This is not as much to teach you how to black hack, as it is to white hack your own system to make it more secure with the knowledge. That's of course if you are using VoIP.

With other phones, I doubt there is much you can do. I suppose you could try FOIA, but I have a feeling that by the time you would get a response, if you were doing something considered illegal, you would already be buried under the jail. I don't think FOIA works in that respect, anyway.

Do you have any indications that your phone is indeed being tapped???

Originally posted by The_Time_is_now
How can I tell if my Phone has been tapped?

You get in trouble later when they use the information against you.

Well, you could take things apart "Enemy of the State" style and see what's in them.

Originally posted by niteboy82
Do you have any indications that your phone is indeed being tapped???

No, i was just curious on how they do it, I dont they think they would waste thier time on tapping a 16 year old guy. lol, I was just wanting to know how they did it, but you can countinue with the technical talk, cause I know how to do that stuff.

MMMMMM interesting please tell me a bit more of the technical stuff...this intrigues me
i know that any phone can be dropped in on but ...yeah tell me more
cheers

Hummmm
how to tell...
is it plugged into a wall - then yes
is it a mobile phone- then your neighbors with a baby monitor are spying on you for the government

is it a cell phone- then the NSA already knows you very well...

any questions?

assume that all communications that you use, are routed thru a computer system to check for reasons to listen closer, then assume if you actually do say something that would get you in trouble, that the call will go from computer to human... then to big brother...

In this day and age... if you say it, you better be willing to back it all the way...

You won't know basically, and I doubt there is any reason for the authorities to do so anyway.
If you're worried about a normal person doing it then there are a few ways but they are difficult to detect. There is a good hack for mobile phones which run Symbian where you load on some basically malicious software which allows a third party to dial in and use your own phone as a bug, but they can't listen to your calls. Hacking GSM is basically impossible by normal people, so no-one going to listen to you on a scanner. On the home phone for someone needs to gain access to your property or tap into the lines either in the local distribution box or the lines outside your house. Again a lot of trouble to go to realistically.
Oh yeah, there is a device you can build/buy that you install in the mark's house which allows you to dial in and listen to what's going on I think.. But again, access required.
I can't tell you more than that as it's against T&C to discuss hacking in detail or to endorse it, hence I advise that no-one else posts any helpful links

Would I be right in thinking (in a way) everyone's phone is tapped including your email, faxes etc?

ECHELON is a highly secretive world-wide signals intelligence and analysis network run by the UKUSA Community (or otherwise described as the Anglo Saxon alliance). ECHELON can capture radio and satellite communications, telephone calls, faxes and e-mails nearly anywhere in the world and includes computer automated analysis and sorting of intercepts. ECHELON is estimated to intercept up to 3 billion communications every day[citation needed].

source

In answer to your question, I doubt it. You would not know that your phone is tapped. An interesting fact about mobile (cell) phones is that not only can your phone conversations be tapped, you can be followed.

My phone "clicks" all the time. Who cares!!! I dont sell dope, and i dont do anything wrong. Let them listen, for all i care.
Maybe they'll learn something.

One thing that concerns me is my TV. I believe they can see me. And i have a picture of Othello whose eyes follow me all over the house. My ceramic turtle moves on its own, and my objec d'art piggy bank makes oinc noises. Still, i go about my daily life as if nothing. I wont let those little things interrupt my days, much less my posting at ATS.
The heck with them.

Originally posted by dgtempe


My phone "clicks" all the time. Who cares!!! I dont sell dope, and i dont do anything wrong. Let them listen, for all i care.
Maybe they'll learn something.

One thing that concerns me is my TV. I believe they can see me. And i have a picture of Othello whose eyes follow me all over the house. My ceramic turtle moves on its own, and my objec d'art piggy bank makes oinc noises. Still, i go about my daily life as if nothing. I wont let those little things interrupt my days, much less my posting at ATS.
The heck with them.

Hi dgtempe///

My phone "clicks" all the time.

This happens here all the time.....Depending on who i call before and talk to later.

Who cares!!! I dont sell dope, and i dont do anything wrong. Let them listen, for all i care.

lol, thats what i say!

Actually, I pick up the phone randomely and talk into it........they know I'm not sane anyway!

A friend worked for 'Telstra' yrs back and it was on their agenda to tap all phones.....I do know that when a word is triggered, then the 'clicking or whatever it is starts to happen...hmm does that make sense?

Back in Russia in the 90's(a friend of mine)told me that this would happen alot for political and religious reasons..and people did get killed.

........
The main thing is to stick to what you believe in and ''Stick with it''!!!

No matter what!

Dgtempe...
I have a freind who SWEARS that he saw a BL/WH video image of himself installing his new cable box... for several seconds.

he hooked it up, (with stereo, and so forth) and then looked up at his TV (which was on) and saw himself... looking at the cable box (which was also plugged in)...
then the cable box went into "load" mode, and pulled up the built in "cable explorer program" just like we all see on Cox digital cable systems...

Who knows... I trust my friend, but he also could be wrong, since he only saw it for a few seconds, and he was rather close to the TV...
maybe a local broadcast signal leaked in?

But needless to say...dont ever pick your nose in front of the TV...

Originally posted by LazarusTheLong
Dgtempe...
I have a freind who SWEARS that he saw a BL/WH video image of himself installing his new cable box... for several seconds.

he hooked it up, (with stereo, and so forth) and then looked up at his TV (which was on) and saw himself... looking at the cable box (which was also plugged in)...
then the cable box went into "load" mode, and pulled up the built in "cable explorer program" just like we all see on Cox digital cable systems...

Who knows... I trust my friend, but he also could be wrong, since he only saw it for a few seconds, and he was rather close to the TV...
maybe a local broadcast signal leaked in?

But needless to say...dont ever pick your nose in front of the TV...

lol, they say anything that can recieve signals can be made to send signals as well.

...And never ever sit with your legs open (if you're a lady) either.

This reminds me of my husbands grandmother- everyone thought she was nuts. Now that she's dead and gone, we realize she was actually seeing the future. She swore that her tv was watching her.

Grandma, sorry i laughed at ya!!! I didnt mean it. Really.

LazarusTheLong, so did your friend tried to find the hidden cam at all, or he just shrugged "oh well" then sat down in the couch and proceeded to watch TV?

Makes you want to take your cell phone for a 1300 WATT ride in the microwave oven.
Gone in 4 seconds.
Like the cajun cook used to say in the 80's--I GUAR-RUN-TEE.

Someone I knew had their phone tapped,he said it sounded like a morse code tapping

You can call your operator and ask. It is within your legal rights to ask this question and they have to answere it.
As for cell phones, I know they can be tracked and would have to think they can tap into the signal.

[edit on 6-10-2008 by Starwatcher]