Is my phone tapped?

[XisCumming]

Dont know where else to post this.

My phone, is making a modem sound... all the time... whenever its turned on,,, If I hold the phone closely to my ear I can hear it... this sound is also present in the background of phone conversations.... It should be noted that this sound does not affect how the phone functions in any way.... Maybe im being paranoid and my phone is shitting the bed? or maybe im correct in my suspicions?


Also anyone know where I can get information about specific companies policies? Im sure some are more willing to comply with government requests than others... I understand they will all uphold to any government law, but that doesnt mean they have to be friendly.

[Om shanti]

I don't think you will be able to hear it if your phone is tapped, unless it was a device made by some amateur who had nothing to do with the phone company or the Law. I think funny noises and clicks in the phone because of someone tapping it are a thing of the past. I could imagine that could happen back before the phone system went digital. Well I'm no phone tapper, so I might be wrong of course, it's just my .02$.

But I'd first see if the sound appears no matter what phone you use, and if it does then call and ask the phone company why your phone line isn't working.

But IMO it's a good practice to always talk on the phone as if you were being tapped. It's not a safe media, no matter what.

[Doctor D]

Can you replace the phone with another and see if the problem still persists? That's the first place I'd start. And replace any phone cables you've got. My first guess is you've got a crappy phone, and second that there is a break in your line somewhere. A break in your line would be on the phone company to fix. But better eliminate your equipment and wiring first, or else they are going to charge you for the service call.

And NEVER discuss anything at ALL illegal over your phone. EVER. Don't hit at anything, no code words, no nothing. Period, end of story. Don't discuss shit over the phone.

[tenjin]

Is it a cell or landline? I could be wrong, but I always thought it was easier to tap and/or triangulate a cell phone than a landline. Especially if you are paying for a service thorough a cell phone company, unlike a pre-paid phone. I think before the digital age it was probably more the norm to tap a landline, ike in the old mafia movies. If it's one of those digital landlines through your cable company for example, I don't see that being any different than a cell phone service plan. If it's a regular landline then it could be faulty/old wiring, crappy phone, etc. (as others has stated). Especially if it's a cordless phone, it could be picking up on another frequency or something. In the past, I've heard crystal clear conversations of neighbors with a cordless landline, so you have to remember they may also hear you too. That's not to say landlines are most safe, as I think any form of communication could be compromised. But pre-paid phones seem ok since they're not really tied to your personal information (excluding triangulation). I'll reiterate what was said, don't be a blabber and talk about everything on the phone, especially in the days of the patriot act. It's not really being paranoid just being safe.

[TVCasualty]

Nah, like others have said a gov't tap would be undetectable. An amateur tap is anyone's guess. Go check the interface box outside your place where the phone line comes in; if there's any weird looking hardware in there then post a pic of it and we'll all guess about what it might be, and while you're in there check for moisture from condensation or leaks. I've had phones start doing lots of strange things when water got into a junction box and corroded a few connections. Every time it rained a lot the problem would reappear, but was fine during dry weather.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Complain to the phone company. You've got some bleed through from another line. Probably a bad DSL filter or a floating ground somewhere upstream. This is especially common in older, large apartment buildings.

You know about a tap until the transcriptions are read in court, I promise.

Land lines and cell calls are both very easy to tap and record if you have a warrant (or can write a Patriot Act request). After they hit the repeater tower, cellular calls go through the same CO and switches, the same wires and fiber, as land line calls.

Capturing and recording cell calls out of the air is far harder than just plugging into the CO. No reason to do it and it would be much easier to defend against in court.

[whatchamacallit]

Is this a land line or cell phone?

[CoyoteMesc]

If you have DSL check the filters. Unplug your DSL modem and listen again.

If you dont then you have a crossed pair. Just happens to be crossed with someone that has dsl or fax modem.

Phone lines are copper strands that have a sheath of plastic over each one. Water inters the cable at closures, load coils, or from animal destruction. The sheath becomes cracked and voltage crosses with other pairs. You can get noise of all kinds.
DSL signal is one of the most common because the signal is like a magnetic wave around the voltage/copper pair. That leaves it vulnerable to hitch hike or derail on other lines. Remember data is just a pipe.

Its common, call the phone company and tell em your line has a modem sound in the background and you believe it is crossed. Make sure you tell em that its so loud you cant use your phone. This will give them 24 hours to fix it rather than a week for in service troubles. Dial tone is regulated by the Public Service Commission and if they fail to fix it, with your complaint to them, the company will be fined.

Good luck/

[copelandiaKidd]

iv had friends whose phones were tapped. the only thing they could hear was a slight click right after the phone was turned on. like another phone was picked up for the same line; it is like a faint echo you will hear. this was all with a cell phone... i dont really have much more to offer. Just google search phone tapping and they can give you the "symptoms"



G'Luck Friend!
PEACE

[RestartLater]

Well if my phone is tapped they have to be bored to death listening to me...LOL
Fact is big brother has been given the right to record all phone conversations since Big Brother created laws post 9/11 man !

If you read big bell even shut off the governments recording devices for period of time when they did not pay their bill.......LOL

But as I stated before refuse to live in fear of living my life.

RestartLater

[BuckarooBanzai]

That hollow thrum/thump of a tapped phone doesn't come into play on digital systems. You only get that sound if you are on an analog system. There aren't very many analog COs any longer (and they all plug into a digital system somewhere - that is where the tap would occur).

Cell phones have always been digital and cellular taps have never been audible or detectable.

Digital taps start recording BEFORE you pick up the extension on your end. They start the instant your number is "hit" by an incoming call, not after it is picked up.

Analog taps could only pick up the line and start recording after you picked up - that was the source of the thumping sound.

[XisCumming]

Originally Posted by Doctor D

Can you replace the phone with another and see if the problem still persists?

Good idea ... It hadnt even occurred to me because its a cellphone but theres no reason why I shouldnt be able to do that.

It is a cell phone, sorry for leaving that key piece of information out. Its a Newer cellphone (internet, music, keyboard etc etc, so its not just old) .... This issue is occuring approx 6 months after certain legal issues, after the incident I did not worry about my phone at all.. however sometime later Im having these issues, and it was the first thing that came to mind.


I also never say anything on the phone at all, mainly cuz I dont do anything illegal, but still I have concerns.

[XisCumming]

Also forgot to post this... I removed the battery for about 18 hours... the sound stopped, then came back... I called one of my friends and asked to meet with them... removed the battery, met with them. After the meeting I started the phone again and the sound changed.... Its no longer an "odd modem" noise, but now its more like Im on the phone with someone, and they just arent talking... like "Dead air/background noise" ... again this sound happens when the phone is simply turned on.. and when im using the phone... there is no clicking.. or echo... or "thumping" ... just this inexplainable sound ...

Im just going to get another phone, one of those prepaids.... again I NEVER SAYING ANYTHING STUPID ON THE PHONE ... it just still seems appropriate anyways. I have no fukn idea whats going on.... Ill assume paranoia.

The absence of evidence, is not the evidence of absence

[(neo)Figment]

yes...yes it is. all communication is tapped.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Your phone or your account is broken, man. Call the cellular provider and bitch at them.

[Jaspmf]

I'm pretty certain it's your phone. I can often hear a weird whir from my phone too..

OMGIMTAPPED
FUCK

You could try switching your sim card into another phone and see if it still sounds wiggy?

[0xyg3n]

There's different kinds of phone tapping. Remember cops are kind of stupid, so don't go and believe that you can't hear your phone being tapped.

Blackberry mobile phones are the only mobile phones that can't be tapped, btw.

[bugs]

Just a thought- you mentioned things were different when you met your friend. Does location have anything to do with it? Is it the same at a distance from your house?

Just wondering if emissions from your computer, or some other electronic device, were getting into the detector/audio section of the phone.

Grasping at straws.

[stickyscissors]

Originally Posted by 0xyg3n

There's different kinds of phone tapping. Remember cops are kind of stupid, so don't go and believe that you can't hear your phone being tapped.

Blackberry mobile phones are the only mobile phones that can't be tapped, btw.

How did you arrive at that conclusion oxy? can you provide me some sort of source that tells how and why blackberrys can't be tapped? i googled it and couldn't find anything. thanks

[BuckarooBanzai]

Originally Posted by 0xyg3n

Blackberry mobile phones are the only mobile phones that can't be tapped, btw.

And you got this totally incorrect information from where, exactly?

Phone tapping today is done virtually the same way it has always been done, by monitoring the lines at the local CO. The only real difference between a tap today and a tap 30 years ago is that the monitoring can be enabled remotely now. 30 years ago, somebody had to manually attach some wires. Today they enter a few keystrokes.

[0xyg3n]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_ta...ackberry_phone

[BuckarooBanzai]

Quick reply. Still completely wrong, though.

All consumer phones can be tapped.

[mystic]

Originally Posted by (neo)Figment

yes...yes it is. all communication is tapped.

I almost fell out of my chair Figment. Yes yes it is. All communication is for sure is tapped. Do you let that stop you from talking on the phone. NO! Do you change the way you talk on your phone? YES. The thing here is key words. I am sure you can find a copy of the key words they(whoever that may be now) use now somewhere on the net.

[0xyg3n]

Damn government.

[MushroomJoe]

Yeah, sorry but wiki.answers.com shouldn't be though of as a reputable source of information.

[0xyg3n]

What about with better encryption?

[BuckarooBanzai]

The problem is that your communications are only encrypted in the air. Once they hit the cellular tower, they are converted to regular old voice packets to be sent into the telephone system.

All digital wireless calls are "encrypted" while in the air because of the way digital wireless works. That is why nobody bothers with radio wave reception to record a call - they just plug in at the CO downstream from the cellular tower.

It is possible to do phone to phone encrypted calling but it is prohibitively expensive - both parties must have the requisite (very expensive) hardware.

And there is no such thing as unbreakable encryption available to normal people. There is encryption that is very, very, very expensive to break - but none that is unbreakable.

[0xyg3n]

Originally Posted by BuckarooBanzai

There is encryption that is very, very, very expensive to break - but none that is unbreakable.

How long are we talking here? 2048-bit encryption?

I see Obama uses a Blackberry with a different encryption scheme than the regulars. I wonder how strong his encryption is?

I guess a different phone is required for official use.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009...ctera-edge.php

[BuckarooBanzai]

PGP with IDEA and long, alphanumerically complex private keys are the most secure encryption readily available to consumers. RSA is also a very, very strong algorithm.

There is anectodal evidence that NSA can crack PGP - but they have never proven that by using a cracked PGP message as evidence exposed to the public record (read - national secret).

As the law currently stands, American citizens cannot be compelled to reveal private encryption keys as it would violate our rights against self incrimination (US v Boucher, 2007 WL 4246473).

Other countries CAN compel a defendant to reveal their private keys, this varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

[rocketman]

Look at the brain on you Bucky! I agree the phone is picking up interference from somewhere. My old cell would make my computer make crazy sounds if I got within a certain distance. Rule out a bad phone first then ........wait.

If you are talking on any phone and saying stuff you shouldnt, you really need to stop. Codes like "hey got any more of that hamburger meat left?"
"I sure could use a quarter pounder" Lets hit up micky ds." etc. Also not using the same code all the time helps keep anyone off your ass.

Thats how it has been done by everyone Ive known to exchange questions and answers without incriminating yourself just in case there is a cop on the other partys line with a gun to his head.
Be smarter than making it easy on them if they do have you tapped.

Just switch your sim card out with another phone by the same service and try that. No weird sounds means you need a new phone. Im betting on you having a phone that is either picking up interference because its broken or just shitty.

[mystic]

Family dollar sells some great cheap ass throw away phones you can buy and dont have to attach a name to if your tripping to hard. One thing you have to realize also is when you are involved with illict behavior is that paranoia is a good thing to have cause it keeps you safe. But it can also be a indicator that you need to lay off the dope your doing. If you find your looking behind you while your driving and you think the same car has been following you for days its time to take a break.

[BuckarooBanzai]

I like math a lot. I see beauty and incredible grace in the large number theorems of hard encryption, just as I see it in the Mandelbrot and Julia sets.

I have always seen evidence of God, evidence of this all being created, most clearly in mathematics and theoretical physics.

I'm a sideshow geek who bites the heads of chickens for the flavor rather than the paycheck.

[0xyg3n]

NSA probably uses back doors in crypto software. I bet that's how they do it so quickly.

[BuckarooBanzai]

RSA and IDEA, by definition, have no "back doors." There are no common keys for RSA or IDEA.

You are thinking of Skipjack, the algorithm encoded into the "clipper" chips (clipper was supposed to keep kids from seeing boobies on TV).

[TheFreak]

here is a good read

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3835510/RS...ity-Algorithms

[0xyg3n]

C'mon you crypto expert. Tell me how long 2048-bit encryption takes to crack.

[BuckarooBanzai]

You ask a nonsensical question.

Many different encryption algorithms can use a 2048 bit key. Some are easily cracked via pattern analysis while others require many gigaflops of brute force to bypass.

You can encrypt WiFi communications with 128 bit WPA or 128 bit WEP. WEP is orders of magnitude more difficult to compromise than WPA.

2048 identifies the size and shape of the key. To estimate how long it takes to crack, you have to tell me what type of lock that key fits into.

[0xyg3n]

I'll leave the blanks, you fill in a variable and give me an answer.

[BuckarooBanzai]

The answer is clearly 42.

The variable is do you wanna be a troll and get spanked or do ya wanna participate in conversation like an adult?

[0xyg3n]

It's okay, I'll ask from a legitimate person next time. Thanks anyways.

[BuckarooBanzai]

See, I tried to play nice and you want to be rude.

Are you familiar with the old adage about poking a bear with a stick?

[0xyg3n]

How big of a stick do you carry?

[BuckarooBanzai]

Well, I can ban ya from here.

[0xyg3n]

Originally Posted by BuckarooBanzai

Well, I can ban ya from here.

I found a cool answer from someone else....

"You have 2^2048 possibilities.

Assume your CPU can try 600,000 possible keys every second (that's what mine does).

The time it would take would be as follows (in years):

(2^2048)/(600,000 x 60 x 60 x 24 x 365) = 2^2048/(600,000 x 31,536,000) = An incredibly long time. I can't get an exact answer because it's overflowing my TI-84 calculator."


Obviously only using bruteforce technique, but It was an answer nonetheless.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Using an RSA algorithm with a public/private keypair, you have an almost infinite number of permutations using a 2048 bit key.

If you used WEP with a 2048 bit key, you would have far less than 2^2048 possible permutations.

That is the power of hard encryption. Using PGP/IDEA, even a 2 bit key becomes difficult to crack.

[0xyg3n]

Anything 2048-bit will be difficult to crack. Especially in real world use when time is of essence.

Why else would they pass laws governing the ability to give police warrants for WEP keys?

Are you going to delete this thread or ban me? Hmmmmm......

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by 0xyg3n

Are you going to delete this thread or ban me? Hmmmmm......

Seemed like the most appropriate reply was in cartoon form.

[sagiboy]

Originally Posted by XisCumming

My phone, is making a modem sound... all the time... whenever its turned on,,, If I hold the phone closely to my ear I can hear it... this sound is also present in the background of phone conversations....

im not from US.
had those noises that youre talking about.
without this filter i got the same noises.


edit:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/t...sl_filter.html

[Om shanti]

A techie friend of mine told me yesterday that every mobile phone sends out a unique identifying serial number. He said he believed it was quite possible to tap and track a phone based on this identifier, and regardless of what SIM is used. He's not in the surveillance business at all, but usually knows his stuff very well (he's in computer security atm and usually very up to date on electronic privacy issues).

I thought I would mention it FYI, and perhaps if someone else can confirm or deny it?

[wildburr]

Shit you should hear the noises my buddies phone makes through his amplifier. We will be practicing for a gig and right before it rings it makes this weird noise through the amp. we always laugh at him because we know his wife is calling before it rings.