phone tapping devices Archives - Page 2 of 3

Cellular Location Evidence Requires Expert Analysis

The use of cellular forensics has become a real tool for many attorneys and their clients – on both the defense and the prosecution sides of the courtroom. Although we conduct mobile device forensics or mobile phone hack detection for clients suspecting cell phone spying, we also conduct investigations using cellphone records and mobile phone tracking techniques. The complexity of cell tower tracking has grown exponentially with the number of cell phone being used today. In fact, cell tower triangulation for cellphone tracking or for locating cellular location is pretty much a misnomer. Cellphone experts say that there is no cellular tower triangulation because cell phone signals bounce from tower to tower depending not only on geographic location, but also the volume of signals in [...]

Be Alert to Signs of Cell Phone Spying

We are getting more and more people asking how they can tell if they have fallen subject to cell phone spying. There are a few symptoms and signs that might indicate you need to undergo mobile phone spyware detection: Battery life is significantly reduced The battery in the phone is hot when not being used by you You hear odd noises like clicking during conversations You hear voices in the background during conversations The screen flashes on at unusual times – without a call or other incoming message We recently were contacted by a woman who lived in a small town and she became very concerned that others were hearing confidential conversations she was having with someone who lived outside the community. Things she had [...]

Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Can Start Outside

You may think that tapping phone lines at your home means someone has to gain access inside the house. While it is possible to install phone tapping devices inside the rooms of your home or office, but you have to know that a bad guy doesn’t even have to get in your house to tap a phone line. A visit to the outside box or the riser could result in the bad guy getting access to your phone line and adding a phone tap device. That’s right. A visit to the box that’s on the outside of your home or office could provide the opportunity for your phone lines to be tampered with and allow your conversations to be overheard. It’s not just the box [...]

Preserving Evidence is Part of Cell Phone Investigations

Cell phone analysis and forensics covers so many different applications that it is difficult to lump it into one particular use. For instance, when a crime is committed, the police authorities are finding that forensic cell phone data recovery can provide vital information. Because they are able to recover cell phone data, the sequence of events can often be outlined in a factual and objective manner. Likewise, in the process of an attorney attempting to get a jury to convict or acquit their client, cell phone records are equally as valuable. The thing about the data on a cell phone is that even when a user thinks he has deleted the evidence, through cell phone deleted data recovery, a forensic expert can retrieve data and [...]

Who’s Listening? Cell Phone Spying is Here

It might sound like a funny prank to pull on a buddy, but installing cell phone spyware is not a joke – nor is it legal - anywhere in the United States. In fact, the Federal Wiretap Act as part of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Title All in Investigations) makes it a federal offense punishable by 5 years in a federal prison and the perpetrator could be subject to civil lawsuits as well. If you do an Internet search on cell phone tap, spy, bug, monitor or eavesdrop, you may find hundreds of sites that sell cell phone spyware – and many of them say the equipment is legal. It may be legal in some countries of the world, [...]

It is What It Is in Cell Phone Forensics

Many times, especially in domestic cases, there are three sides to every story: his, hers and the truth. Cell phone forensics allows us to find that third side. Cell phones are just computers. And, as I have stated before, even data you think may have been deleted from a computer is still stored somewhere in the hard drive. Therefore, the same goes for cell phones. Text messages and e-mails are most likely retrievable. And in the case of a domestic case, you can use cell phone records as evidence. Not only the call logs, but the data extracted through cell phone forensics and cell phone analysis. In order to perform cell phone forensics on a cell phone, the phone must be accessible. We are able [...]

Cell Phone Records Plus Cellular Forensics Equals Power

Often we get inquiries about cellular forensics and the person calling doesn’t know what they are really looking to get. Some callers think all cellular forensics entails is getting records from the cell phone service providers. Let’s clear up some of this confusion. There is a big difference between cell phone service carrier records and what a cell phone forensics expert does. The carrier just provides date, time, the length of call or number of text messages. There is a very specific legal process for cell records. One of the most immediate steps we take as investigators is to secure a preservation letter requesting that the carrier preserve the cell records because a court order is coming. With the amount of information accumulated by cell [...]

Cell Phone Spyware Gives Away Information Without Your Knowing

There was a recent article in the Indianapolis Star newspaper about a “computer virus” that can hear what is said. The article was actually an Associated Press piece written by Raphael Satter and Amy Teibel out of London. And the “virus” was more than likely spyware. It has been dubbed the “Flame Virus” and it actually attacked computers in the Middle East, specifically Iran. Russian Internet Security firm, Kaspersky Lab ZAO says it can be used to spy on everything that a user is doing. It is believed to have been crafted at the behest of a national government (inferred to be Israel) that sees Iran as a threat. The reason we say the virus was more than likely spyware was because of the way [...]

Bug Detection has Evolved, Just Like Planting Bugs Has Changed

Technology has changed just about everything about life, hasn’t it? Well, that pertains to the investigative world, too. In the early 1970s, when did Technical Surveillance and Countermeasures (TSCM) sweeps, we were basically looking for radio room bugs and telephone line taps. Bad guys would generally need to have access to the location to plant eavesdropping devices. Bugs could be planted by a “fake” service technician who comes to handle a service call (that you didn’t make). He would access phone lines and install some sort of surveillance equipment. There were also those who would pick a lock and sneak in to bug a phone or climb a gutter to plant a bug. The equipment we needed to do a bug sweep could be contained [...]

Computer Forensics, Cellular Forensics and Garbology all Can Tell the Truth

Private investigators do more than just ferret out the truth. They tell the truth as objective, disinterested third parties. They are professional witnesses. Often, before litigation is started and a suit filed, we'll be asked to investigate the suspicions that are the basis for the suit. As an impartial third party, we don't have a vested interest in the outcome, which means we seek the truth rather than looking for more fuel to flame the fire of litigation. Here at , we report our findings and observations in that manner, which means we are sometimes subject to 'shoot the messenger' reactions. That happens because sometimes we don't provide what our clients want in order to fulfill their objectives. The results may not be what they [...]