Tapping your cell phone

[Bruce Page]

OK everybody, this is down right creepy. If you use a cell phone, this is stunning information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCyKcoDaofg

[Mike Cutler]

There's a lot more than just that. The wireless telecommunications technology is a great boon to society, but it opens a lot of previously unopened windows.

Any wireless communication can be intercepted, any wireless device can be hacked. If a person puts information over the air, they have to understand this fact.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

You are surprised?

We have a couple of wireless phones tied to our home phone. They have their use. I have one that has 3 stations.....2 in the house....1 in the shop. I can answer our home phone in the shop. Convenient.

We have some neighbors who have a scanner. They intercept wireless phones and cellphone conversations. Illegally remade scanner makes it possible.

While they are getting more difficult to find, we have a couple of wired phones on our home phone line. Guess which ones I use if I don't want the neighbors to listen to my conversation?

[Eric DeSilva]

Lacking audio attached to my computer at work, can't really hear the video. One point I'd make, however, is that most digital phones use encryption that will prevent casual (scanner-based) interception. Law enforcement with warrants can tap into your cellular calls at the carrier's switch, but that is a little different than casual interception. Cordless phones are different, and the protection you get from eavesdroppers is directly related to the strength of the encryption the manufacturer uses.

Sadly, my life is uninteresting enough that an eavesdropper would be suicidally bored listening in on my conversations.

[Chris Padilla]

Do "party lines" still exist? Those were the systems were several households used one line and you could actually listen the neighbors talking to each other if you picked up (purposely or accidentally). I think these mostly existed in rural areas but I remember them as a kid at grandma's house....

[Randal Stevenson]

Do "party lines" still exist? Those were the systems were several households used one line and you could actually listen the neighbors talking to each other if you picked up (purposely or accidentally). I think these mostly existed in rural areas but I remember them as a kid at grandma's house....


My house, was my grandmothers. It had the same phone number for a LONG time, and was a party line until 1984. I bought the house in 92, and between 93-94 I received some crossover from the party lines. I had reception from a ham radio a little later (I could hear and understand him), then shortly after that, no more.

[Dennis McGarry]

Actually all new scanners, those made after i belive 97/98 lack the tuning freqs required to listen to the cordless phones, they block out the 900Mhz range and the 2.ghz range that they use. Federal Law required that.

Older scanners still can be programmed for this but then the newer phones encryption kicks in. The encryption is more to protect the phone from being pickup by another of the same freq in the area and only by those attached to the same base station for the phone.

I am more concerned with wireless hacking then of the neighbor listening to my phone calls anymore.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The phones need to be tampered with by that third party.
The feds used technology to turn cell phones into wireless spy devices to listen in on crimes in planning. Y gotta have physical possession of the phone to alter it.


GPS tracking via cell phone is very do able. You need the cooperation of the phone company or one of those "keep track of your kids" programs they sell or one of those spy packages.

As an aside:
If you are accused of a crime and part of that crime would require you to obtain your privacy by pulling the battery of your phone - and you indeed did pull the battery - the prosecution will use that as proof of guilty intent. After all, they will argue you would not have taken such extraordinary steps if you didn't have something to hide.