How Does a Wiretap Work?
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Wiretapping Basics
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A wire tap is any clandestine monitoring of a phone call. It is called a tap because, before digital telephone switching, you would have to physically tap into the phone line at the box. Although this is still sometimes used for illegal wiretapping, the police have much better tools at their disposal. Official wiretapping is done with computers, and is undetectable.
Primitive Wiretapping
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The do-it-yourself approach to wiretapping has changed very little in the past few decades. A circuit containing a small transmitter is attached to the phone lines where they enter the house. When the phone is picked up, the wire tap transmits the conversation to a listening station nearby, usually using a simple FM transmitter. There is enough power in the phone lines to produce a radio signal that can transmit for several blocks--far enough away to set up a listening station. Alternately, the wiretap could have a small tape recorder on it to record conversations. The listener would have to come back and pick up the tape.
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Modern Wiretapping
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Most conversations are digitized and routed through telephone company computers. If the government orders a wiretap of your phone line, the phone company simply creates a digital copy of every call that comes through your phone line. The phone company already records information about what numbers you call and how long each call lasts. When a wiretap is ordered, this information is combined with the wiretap recordings to get a complete picture of your phone conversations.
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teamanabolix
Dec 08, 2009
Your statement about the phone company making a digital copy of every call is inaccurate. The mobile switch does not have the ability to record or copy the voice conversations of it's subscribers. Within the mobile switch, there is what is called the delivery function. The Delivery Function is hardware and software based and performs a digital tap on the circuit carrying your conversation. The call content and call data are then sent to the LEA that submitted the Title III or Title 47 order. It is the LEA's responsibility to capture and record the information. The only information the phone company retains is what is necessary to process billing. So if the LEA doesn't record it as it happens, there is no second chance.
