How to Detect a phone being wiretapped

If you believe that your cell phone or landline phone has been tapped, there are a number of clues to support that suspicion. However, some of the signs below can be caused by other causes, so it’s important to check for multiple signs instead of relying on just one. After finding enough evidence, you can ask the authorities for help. Here are the signs you need to look for if you suspect your phone has a wiretapping device.

Table of Contents

Initial suspicions

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Pay attention when the secret gets out. If confidential information that only a handful of trusted people know is suddenly exposed, it’s likely that the leak was caused by a wiretapped phone, especially since you discussed this information at the time. there.

This is especially noticeable if you are in a position that makes you an important audience to follow. For example, if you are a senior leader of a large company with many competitors, you could become a victim of an industry that hunts for information. ^{[1] X Research Source}
On the other hand, the reason why you are being wiretapped can also be very simple, for example you are going through a complicated divorce process. Your soon-to-be-divorced spouse may be eavesdropping on you if they want to dig up information that would benefit the divorce proceedings.
If you want to test this, it’s possible to reveal a fake (seemingly important) piece of information to someone you trust not to tell anyone. If that information is leaked, it means someone is eavesdropping on you.

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Be wary if your home has recently been broken into. If your home has recently been broken into and nothing of value has been lost, this alone indicates that something is out of the ordinary. Sometimes it’s because they break into your house to install wiretapping devices on your phone. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Signs of wiretapping on the phone in general

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Listen to the noise. If you hear a lot of white noise or other background sounds while talking on the phone, it’s likely that the noise is interfering with a wiretapping device. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

This isn’t the most obvious sign, though, as echoes, white noise, and clicks can also be caused by other random objects, or a poor line connection.
White noise, rattling sounds and sudden noises can be caused by the discharge of two electrical conductors when connected.
A high-pitched humming is a more obvious sign.
You can use the low-frequency sound sensor to check for sounds that are not normally heard by the ear. If this sound is making a lot of noise every minute, it is very likely that your phone has been tapped.

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Use your phone alongside other electronic devices. If you suspect your phone has been tapped, walk past the radio or television while you listen to your next call. Even if you don’t hear any interference on your phone, it’s likely that interference occurred when you were standing next to another electronic device, causing white noise with that device.

You should also watch for signs of interference when not actively using the phone. A phone’s active radio signal can disrupt data transmission even when no other software or hardware is installed on the phone, but a passive signal cannot. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
Some recording or eavesdropping devices use frequencies close to the radio band, so if your radio squeals when set to mono and tuned to the furthest point on the band, there maybe one of those devices is in use.
Similarly, eavesdropping equipment can interfere with television broadcast frequencies on UHF channels. Use a television with an antenna to check for interference in the room.

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Listen to the phone when not in use. Your phone will make no sound when you are not using it. If you hear beeps, clicks, or other sounds coming from your phone when it’s not in use, there may be wiretapping software or hardware installed in your phone.

In particular, you need to listen to the white noise emitted in amplitude.
If this happens, it can be concluded that the microphone and speaker are working even when you are not using the phone, which is caused by an electrical circuit connected to the phone. Any of your conversations within 6 meters of your phone can be eavesdropped.
For landline phones, if you hear a dial tone when you’re not using the phone, this is a sign of wiretapping. Confirm the presence of this noise with an external audio amplifier.

Signs of eavesdropping on cell phones

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Pay attention to the temperature of the battery. ^{[5] X Research Source} If the cell phone battery is unusually hot when not in use and you don’t know why, there may be spyware running in the background, causing the phone battery to continuously drain.

Of course, a hot battery can also simply be due to overuse. This is especially true if your phone is more than a year old, as cell phone batteries degrade over time.

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Note the number of times to charge the phone. If the life of your phone battery suddenly drops for no reason, forcing you to charge it twice as often as usual, it could be because the spyware is constantly running in the background and consuming all its power.

You also need to consider how much you use your phone. If you’ve been using your phone a lot lately, the need to charge your phone more is probably simply because it’s been more active. This is only true if you barely touch the phone or don’t use it more than usual.
You can monitor the life of your mobile phone battery with apps like BatteryLife LX or Battery LED.
Note that cell phone batteries lose their ability to hold power after a period of use. If this change occurs after you’ve been using your phone for a year or more, it’s simply because the battery is old.

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Try powering off the phone. If the power off process is delayed or cannot be completed, this strange situation indicates that someone is controlling your phone through a device that is plugged into the circuit board.

Pay close attention to assess if your phone is powering off for longer than usual, or if the backlight continues to light up after you’ve turned it off.
While this could be a sign that the phone is being wiretapped, it could also be a hardware or software problem with the phone that is completely unrelated to the wiretapping.

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Watch out for random activities. If your phone lights up, turns off, starts up, or installs apps on its own without your intervention, it’s possible that someone has cracked the phone and controlled it with a plug-in device. .

On the other hand, this situation can occur if there is random interference during data transmission.

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Watch out for unusual messages. If you have recently received SMS messages that include any string of letters or numbers from an anonymous sender, those messages are a very clear sign that the phone is under control.

Some programs use SMS messages to send commands to the controlled phone. If these programs are poorly installed, messages may appear. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Pay close attention to your phone bill. If your data costs skyrocket and you know you didn’t do anything to increase costs, it’s possible that someone is using your data through a tracking device or app.

Many tracking programs send call history to servers using your mobile data. Older programs use a lot of mobile data so they are easy to detect, but new programs hide better because they use less data.

Signs of eavesdropping on desk phones

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Check out the surrounding space. If you suspect there is an eavesdropping device on the phone line, check the surroundings. If something is misplaced, like a sofa or desk, don’t assume you’re hallucinating. This could be a sign that someone has sneaked into your house.

The eavesdropper may have moved furniture while trying to reach power lines or telephone wires, so this is an important factor to keep in mind.
In particular, take a look at the wall panels. You should pay close attention to the walls around the phone. If they seemed to be teleported, someone might have interfered.

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Look outside the phone box. You probably don’t know what the inside of the phone box looks like, but if you do, give it a look. If the phone box appears to be tampered with or the internals are affected, someone may have approached to install a wiretapping device.

If you see any hasty hardware installed, even if you don’t know what it is, have a mechanic check it out.
Look closely at the “restricted” side of the box. This side of the box can only be opened with a hex key, and if it seems to be impacted then there must be a problem.
There is only one box for each landline number and there are two cables connected to the box. Any extra cables or boxes can be a sign of wiretapping.

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Count the number of multi-purpose trucks that pass your house. If you see suddenly a lot of multi-purpose trucks running around your house, this could be a sign that they are no ordinary multi-purpose trucks. It is the car of the people who are eavesdropping on your calls and they are maintaining the wiretapping.

This is especially noticeable if no one is getting off or getting on.
In general, someone who eavesdrops on a landline phone line via a recorder will be 150-200 meters away from your home. Vehicles will be equipped with stained glass doors.

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Beware of mysterious repairmen. If someone comes to your home claiming to be a repairman or carrier employee, but you don’t ask them to come, it could be a trap. Verify the person’s identity by calling the phone company or the company they claim to have come from. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

When calling the company, you should use the number in your contact list. Do not use the phone number given to you by the person.
Even if you have verified it, it is still important to carefully observe this worker’s actions while they are at your home.

Confirm your doubts

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Use a wiretapping detector. An eavesdropping device may be installed on your phone. As the name suggests, it can pick up outside signals and eavesdropping device signals, letting you know if your suspicions are correct, and whether someone else is eavesdropping on your calls.

The usefulness of this device is questionable, but in order for the device to detect wiretapping it must be able to detect electrical or signal changes on the phone line under test. Look for equipment that can measure impedance and capacitance, along with the ability to detect changes in high-frequency signals. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Install apps. For smartphones, you can install an eavesdropping detection application to detect eavesdropping signals and unauthorized access to phone data.

The effectiveness of these types of apps is still up for debate, so they probably can’t produce convincing evidence. Some applications of this type can only detect recording devices installed with other applications.
The apps that claim to be able to detect recording devices are Reveal: Anti SMS Spy.

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Ask your carrier for support. If you have good reason to believe that your phone has been tapped, you can ask your carrier to test it with specialized equipment.

Standard analysis performed by the phone company can detect any illegal wiretapping, eavesdropping, low-frequency equipment, and phone line splicing.
Note that if you’ve asked the phone company to check for wiretapping and recording, but they either deny the request or claim nothing after a brief inspection, it’s likely doing so. government demand.

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Go to the police station. If there is clear evidence that the phone is tapped, you can ask the police to check it. Moreover, you can ask them to catch someone who is eavesdropping on you.

Most police stations have the necessary equipment to check for a recording or wiretapping device on a phone, but if you don’t have reasonable proof they won’t use it.

Steps

Initial suspicions

Signs of wiretapping on the phone in general

Signs of eavesdropping on cell phones

Signs of eavesdropping on desk phones

Confirm your doubts

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