How to Know if Your Land Phone Is Tapped
If your phone is being tapped by a professional such as a law enforcement agency or the government, there is no sure way to detect the tap. Such devices are designed not to be discovered. The most common detectable taps are those done by amateur eavesdroppers. Despite the rarity of noticeable signs, there are ways to determine whether your phone conversations are being monitored. Keep in mind the best way to protect yourself is to avoid discussing any sensitive information over the phone.
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Instructions
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Check your phone, the charger and any outdoor telephone boxes for signs of tampering such as extra wires or small box devices that could be recorders. If you are not comfortable doing this yourself, contact your phone service provider and request they send out a technician to examine the service. The technician can remove any foreign devices from the wiring.
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Listen for strange sounds or volume changes on your phone such as beeps, clicks, or high static. Noises such as these could indicate a conversation is being recorded by a third party. Keep in mind that professional devices rarely make such noises, so this could be the sign of an amateur.
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Monitor how often your phone rings but no one is at the other end, or when you hear a faint monotone or high-pitched squeal. Instances like this could be the sign of recorded material being transmitted by a line extender or a slave device (A "slave device" is a mechanism controlled by, or transmits to, the "master device" which stores information.)
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Pay close attention to the actions of other people. Make note of how often third-party people know things from private phone conversations of which they were not apart.
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Read all of your mail and check for letters containing copies of your private messages. While this will not occur in cases of law enforcement, it can occur in amateur or criminal cases, as a means of blackmail. It is often seen in cases such as divorce proceedings, custody battles and shareholder disputes. Keep these and contact local law enforcement to move forward with the appropriate steps to end the harassment.
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Purchase a detection device such as a frequency counter and attach it to your phone to see if you can pick up the third-party listener. Many of these devices are very simple and indicate someone is listening or not listening by a green or red light.
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Tips & Warnings
To avoid being tapped do not take part in criminal activities or have relationships with those who do and do not discuss or elude to sensitive information over the phone that you would not want a third party to know.
Tapping is common on business phones that conduct work overseas for national security purposes. Keep your record clean and maintain clean business practices, and you will have nothing to worry about. Keep in mind that using sounds is not an accurate way to detect a professional or even amateur eavesdropping device. While they may indicate signs of tapping and should be paid attention to, do not forget that such noises can be common with some technologies and do not necessarily mean you are being monitored.
References
- Photo Credit telephone image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
