There are a few signs that may assist you to determine if your cell phone has “spy” software, frequently known as “spyware”, installed on it. If it does, and you were not the one that installed it, chances are you are being tracked, tapped or monitored in some way by somebody.
This article, Is There Spyware on My Cell Phone, will be the first of a three part series of articles about cellphone spyware.
How to Remove Spyware on Your Cell Phone and How to Secure Your Cell Phone will follow in the weeks to come.
Once they are released, I will update this original post with those respective links.
This guide aims to help those with both Android and Apple smartphones (sorry blackberry users).
So what spyware capable of seeing, hearing, accessing or doing?
Spyware can:
- Relay or overhear your phone conversations. In some cases – as the call happens, simultaneously in the listeners phone.
- Record every conversation, that can be accessed by the listener at a later time via their phone or computer.
- Call logs, complete with phone numbers, times and duration of the calls.
- Forward your text messages (date and time stamped) as they are sent and received.
- Forward your internet browsing history.
- Forward all your emails.
- Access to files on phone, photos, videos, contacts, calendars and any other personal files.
- Monitor message service apps, such as WhatsApp or iMessage.
- Monitor activity on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter
- Record phone surroundings – this is a remote feature that activates the microphone and records the surrounding area and possibly live conversations you have with others .
- View and control installed apps
- Triggers and alerts – setting up trigger words or phone numbers which will send you an instant alert, such as a phone number of a suspected mistress or the trigger word “sex”.
- GPS monitoring as long as the phone is on.
- Voicemails.
- The accessed data is ANY data that is on your phone currently, not just as the spyware was installed. For example, if you have text messages from a year ago on your phone, the spyware installer can access them even if they bugged your phone just last week!
- Deletion of your files (emails, text messages, pictures etc.)
Now that you know what spyware can do, how do you know if you have it on your phone?
Quite often these signs can be quite subtle.
Depending on the level of spyware sophistication, some programs are virtually undetectable and would require a Forensics Specialist to determine if there is spyware installed. At the CMP Group we do this routinely and would be more than happy to schedule a consultation with you.
The better the spyware, the few glitches.
Unrefined spyware often causes glitches in your phone. These serve no purpose to the spyware and are mainly due to coding issues in the software, such as:
1. Changes in Battery Life: Some spyware can actually increase battery life, while some rapidly deplete it. Either way there will be significant changes in battery life.
2. Strange Phone Behavior: Are your apps randomly shutting down? Does the screen light up for no reason, like when the cell phone isn’t active? Every now and then phones exhibit odd behavior, which is perfectly normal, but the more frequent it is may be a clear indication that your cell phone may possess spyware.
3. Phone Shuts Off, by Itself: Even when the battery is charged, does your phone power down randomly and frequently? This, once again, serves no purpose to the spyware, and is due to programming glitches.
4. Echoing or Background Noise: Although this happens with phones depending on the connection, if you hear clicking or beeping this could mean that someone is listening to your calls or conversations. Some less-sophisticated spyware accesses your phone calls similar to a conference call, which would account for the background noise.
5. Data Usage: If you’ve noticed a significant increase in your data usage, it could be spyware is using up your data to transmit your activity. More sophisticated spyware will use less data.
6. Text Messages: Are you getting strange text messages containing no text, random numbers, pictures, symbols or characters? This may be a sign of a remote control feature of spyware. Those odd texts are actually secret coded messages being sent to your phone holding codes that access your information.
Most of the time, the glitches are due to coding issues in the spyware. The better the spyware, the fewer the glitches.
Just because you have one of these signs, doesn’t necessarily mean you have spyware installed on your phone. However, if your phone is exhibiting several of these behaviors, someone may be spying on you!
What is the legality of spyware? Please consult with your attorney for your respective state regulations.
That being said, keep in mind:
- Spyware may be installed legally onto a minor’s cell phone by a parent or guardian who pays the cell phone bill.
- Spyware that is installed on an adult’s phone, the other adult must be alerted that the spyware has been installed (i.e. Even if you are on the same family plan as your spouse and you pay their cell phone bill, you do not have the right to covertly install the spyware).
- Once again, laws vary from state to state. In New York, hacking or illegally tapping into someone’s computer account without their permission is an E Felony, which is punishable by up to three (3) years in prison.
- Although we receive calls to un-install spyware, and do it frequently, we will not install spyware. Any investigative firm that offers to do so, is most likely doing it illegally.
Next Monday we will explain How to Remove Spyware on Your Cell Phone.
Thomas Ruskin 