How do u know your phone is tapped

Phone tracking doesn’t only happen to people of high interest such as politicians or investigative journalists. Although they are chosen cyber victims for a reason, sometimes spyware like this can infect a random person’s device.

Luckily, there are techniques to detect it and prevent it. Read on to find out how to check if your phone is tapped.

Do You Know Whether You’re Carrying Around a Tapped Phone??

The sole purpose of a tapped phone could be to steal information from you—whether it’s info on product development, a business strategy, or something related to a court case. In fact, there’s a big industry built around spyware designed to snoop on people.

There are many ways to protect your device from tapping. For starters, since these spying techniques are invisible to the average user, you’ll need additional help either from a cyber-security app, your carrier, or a phone-sweeping professional.

What are the warning signs?

A hacker can tap your phone without coming anywhere near you. They can (or get you to) install spyware, with you being none the wiser. These are the signs it might’ve happened:

• Battery issues – Your phone battery heating up or getting drained for no apparent reason can mean your device has been infected with malware. But, of course, there can be other causes, such as energy-intensive apps affecting your system performance.
• Mobile data usage – If your habits haven’t changed, but you’re suddenly using way more mobile data than before, it may mean that someone’s using it to upload or download large files.
• Phone misbehaving – If your previously obedient device suddenly starts to light up, shut down, or even install apps on its own, it can indicate that someone is controlling your phone remotely.
• Ads and pop-ups – If they start showing up often, even when you’re not browsing the web, it could mean that your phone has been infected with malware or adware.
• Strange apps – If there are apps on your phone that you don’t recognize or can’t recall installing, it could mean that your phone has been infected with malware or adware.
• Questionable audio quality – If you’re hearing something odd in the background when making calls, like an echo or a clicking sound, it could be a sign of a tapped phone.
• Camera and mic misbehaving – If the light for the webcam or microphone is on, but you aren’t using them at the moment, it probably means you’re being eavesdropped on. However, sometimes they can be activated even without the light turning on.
• Strange administrators – One sophisticated phone-tapping method is installing a manager profile that grants someone else access to apps to monitor your behaviour.

Note:If law enforcement is interested in listening to your device, they can do so by simply contacting your carrier. However, Australia ranks high when it comes to protecting users’ privacy.

How to Protect Your Device from Phone Tapping?

There are quick ways to safeguard your privacy and data in case you’ve been a victim of a phone tap and ensure that you have a secure device again:

• Turn on airplane mode—This option can be a good temporary solution until you reach out to a professional who knows how to untap your phone.
• Reset your phone – You can remove spyware on Androids and iPhones by restoring your phone to its fabric configurations.
• Reach out to your carrier or the police – They can check if your phone’s being tapped if you have a legitimate reason to be suspicious.

What to do if your Android is being tapped?

There’s a phone tapping code for Android devices that should show if the device has been compromised:

• The number to dial to see if your phone is tapped: *#21*, *#67#, or *#62#, will show you if your calls, messages, data, etc., have been forwarded.
• If you see a “forwarded” notification, just dial ##002#.
• Your screen will then show you something like “Erasure successful”.

Note:Another good advice for Android users is to look into your files’ names. Some poor quality spy software may include words like “spy”, “monitor”, or “stealth” in its name, or some other suspicious combination of numbers and symbols.

What to do if your iOS is being tapped?

It’s more challenging to tap iOS devices, but it’s still possible. For example, you could’ve connected to a network a hacker has access to. That could’ve been enough for them to download data from your device.

A good recommendation is to update your OS via iTunes in case of any jailbreak. This will remove any software that didn’t come from the App Store, meaning it’ll erase any potential spying apps, worms, and the like.

Ways to Increase Phone Security

The two most common ways of phone tapping include root or jailbreak, meaning that someone has gained full access to your phone without your knowledge.

n the other hand, some spyware requires you to consciously install an app and permit it to track your calls, for example. The catch is that it usually hides its true motives.

Being paranoid and constantly asking yourself, “is my phone tapped?” is no way to live, so here’s how to make more conscious decisions when downloading apps:

• Be wary of the applications you’re downloading to your device. Always check the company’s legitimacy, number of downloads, reviews, etc.
• Always read what kind of permissions you’re granting—does the app want access to your contacts, microphone, camera, etc.? Why does it need them?
• Never click on unknown links in emails or SMS; it’s extremely common for them to be part of scams.

When it comes to cyber-security, regular folk can only do so much. That’s where security apps come in. Many companies have developed threat protection solutions specifically for cyberattacks on mobile devices.

Installing an anti-malware app on your mobile device will allow you to remotely delete your data from it if it gets stolen once it’s been turned on and connected to the internet again. Having a malware scanner on your phone is always smart—you can just set it and forget it.

The Takeaway

When it comes to phone security, if something is suspicious, there’s usually a reason for it. You use your phone for many hours a day, so you’d be the first to notice anything dodgy going on with it.

Rather than ignoring it, there are ways how to check if your phone is tapped, so do a quick checkup or, even better, take precautions and download a security app so that you can sleep tight and not worry about who might be peeping into your life and files.

FAQs:

1. What does *# 21 do to your phone?

Dialling this sequence will show you if your calls, messages and other phone data is being forwarded.

2. How do I block my phone from being tracked?

If you think your phone is being tracked, we recommend switching on the airplane mode and reaching out to a professional for phone-sweeping services ASAP.

3. Can someone read my text messages from their phone?

Yes, it’s possible for someone to gain remote control over your phone without you knowing.

4. Can you check to see if your phone is tapped?

Yes, and we’ve thoroughly explained further up in this guide how to check if your phone is tapped, what the warning signs are, and how to stop it from happening.