Someone tapping into my phone...is this possible?

ibarelycare

Hoping someone can help me here. Sorry for the long background story but please bear with me!

For roughly the past 6 months, my boyfriend has been getting bothersome calls from private numbers, basically badmouthing me, telling him stuff about my past, etc. We couldn't understand who the calls would be from as neither of us have any enemies that we know of!

As time went on, the calls started getting a lot weirder. One night I went out with a group of old friends to Navan, where I rarely go out and wouldn't know many people there. I ended up bumping into my ex who I'm still friendly with and still talk to. Was texting him the next day asking how rest of night went, the usual. Told my bf we met up & all. Anyway, that week my bf got the usual call but this time the person told him that I had met up with my ex (he even called him by name) in Navan & that we were all over each other. I don't know anyone in Navan besides my ex & my bf has never even been there so we couldn't understand it.

Before I met my bf I was seeing this other guy for a while. Didn't work out but we also stayed friendly, my bf had no problem with this. The guy is a mechanic & a couple of months ago I was having trouble with my car & text him about it one morning. He told me he'd meet me after work to have a look at it. That afternoon my bf got a call to say I was meeting my ex after work. I hadn't even told him about it yet because I hadn't been talking to him.

These are just 2 examples. There have been times when I've been texting male friends and the person will ring my bf later that week and say I've been texting so & so (they'll even name them). The calls were becoming more frequent so my bf decided to change his number. He gave his new number only to people he knew he could trust.

Anyway these calls have started up again on his new number. I was texting the mechanic guy again last week, just asking him how work was going & stuff, and my bf got a call to say I was talking to him again.

I am beyond paranoid at this stage. The only thing I can think of is that someone has access to the messages I'm sending and receiving, it's the only way they could have the information they do & the only way they would have my bf's new number. Is this even possible though??

I'm with meteor bill pay & am going to change my number but it's still really worrying me. We have thought about going to the police but don't know if it's really worthy enough to involve them. I have also thought about ringing Meteor but feel a bit stupid suggesting that someone is hacking into my phone!!

Understandably I'm really worried and just wondering has anyone any insight?

Tipsy Mac

ibarelycare wrote: »

The calls were becoming more frequent so my bf decided to change his number. He gave his new number only to people he knew he could trust.

There's your problem, either that or someone working within your phone provider has a grudge.

ibarelycare

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

There's your problem, either that or someone working within your phone provider has a grudge.

That's what I was thinking, but I thought it wasn't possible for your mobile operators to see the content of your text messages, just the numbers the messages were being sent to and from???

Rsaeire

ibarelycare wrote: »

That's what I was thinking, but I thought it wasn't possible for your mobile operators to see the content of your text messages, just the numbers the messages were being sent to and from???

It is possible for mobile networks to see the content of sms, however, this is generally only done in criminal investigations.

lucernarian

I think you should definitely contact Meteor. Just don't put your conclusion on it.

If you explain everything to them, and ask them how this is happening, and that you're going to be in touch with the gardai in the next couple of days, they'll have to look into it and you won't sound paranoid:)

Btw you don't seem paranoid by the appearance of your post to me anyway.

chrislad

Rsaeire wrote: »

It is possible for mobile networks to see the content of sms, however, this is generally only done in criminal investigations.

I don't think this is the case. Call records are held for 3 years, but from speaking to tech teams in a couple of the companies, there's no records kept of the actual content of the messages, same way all phone calls aren't recorded, and even if there were records of the messages, it'd be fairly easy to narrow it down. It wouldn't be someone who works in a phone shop, it'd be someone working much higher up in terms of IT infrastructure.

TheInquisitor

ibarelycare wrote: »

Hoping someone can help me here. Sorry for the long background story but please bear with me!

For roughly the past 6 months, my boyfriend has been getting bothersome calls from private numbers, basically badmouthing me, telling him stuff about my past, etc. We couldn't understand who the calls would be from as neither of us have any enemies that we know of!

As time went on, the calls started getting a lot weirder. One night I went out with a group of old friends to Navan, where I rarely go out and wouldn't know many people there. I ended up bumping into my ex who I'm still friendly with and still talk to. Was texting him the next day asking how rest of night went, the usual. Told my bf we met up & all. Anyway, that week my bf got the usual call but this time the person told him that I had met up with my ex (he even called him by name) in Navan & that we were all over each other. I don't know anyone in Navan besides my ex & my bf has never even been there so we couldn't understand it.

Before I met my bf I was seeing this other guy for a while. Didn't work out but we also stayed friendly, my bf had no problem with this. The guy is a mechanic & a couple of months ago I was having trouble with my car & text him about it one morning. He told me he'd meet me after work to have a look at it. That afternoon my bf got a call to say I was meeting my ex after work. I hadn't even told him about it yet because I hadn't been talking to him.

These are just 2 examples. There have been times when I've been texting male friends and the person will ring my bf later that week and say I've been texting so & so (they'll even name them). The calls were becoming more frequent so my bf decided to change his number. He gave his new number only to people he knew he could trust.

Anyway these calls have started up again on his new number. I was texting the mechanic guy again last week, just asking him how work was going & stuff, and my bf got a call to say I was talking to him again.

I am beyond paranoid at this stage. The only thing I can think of is that someone has access to the messages I'm sending and receiving, it's the only way they could have the information they do & the only way they would have my bf's new number. Is this even possible though??

I'm with meteor bill pay & am going to change my number but it's still really worrying me. We have thought about going to the police but don't know if it's really worthy enough to involve them. I have also thought about ringing Meteor but feel a bit stupid suggesting that someone is hacking into my phone!!

Understandably I'm really worried and just wondering has anyone any insight?

Did you by any chance get your phone from someone else as in you didn't buy it yourself. I have heard of phones you can buy that when any messages are sent or received to it , a backup of the messages are sent to another phone so they recieve every message. Otherwise i would check there are no devises inside your phone that could have been added at soem stage. Sounds dodge though

MonicaBing

Jesus girl get onto the guards immediately and your service provider. A the very least its a breach of privacy and possibly data protection? I would be planking it by now and your fella sounds like a saint to have put up with all that shoite.
Get on it straight away, before, and i dont wish to frighten you, it escalates.
Good luck to you and make sure you post back & let us know how you fared out.

Praetorian Saighdiuir

Hi,

I am aware of a bluetooth hacking code. Basically this is how it works....

1/ A friend of yours downloads a bluetooth hacking code from the internet and installs it onto their phone.

2/ This person opens up the bluetooth hacker application on their phone then "innocently" sends you a file via bluetooth i.e. a ringtone, picture etc. For you to receive this file you have to accept it, this means you both have to enter the same pin.

3/ Once you accept this file, the code is embedded and your phone is "twinned" with their phone....

4/ This now means that your friend can control your phone without you knowing....even with your bluetooth off and not even in range.

....they can turn it on and off
....they can text and phone from THEIR phone using YOUR credit
....they can enter and delete numbers on your phone
....everytime u send a text...a copy of that text goes to their phone
....everytime u get a text...a copy of that text goes to their phone.



GET A NEW PHONE AND DONT ACCEPT BLUETOOTH STUFF FROM ANYONE!!!

Praetorian Saighdiuir

Actually....this might be easier to understand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WRLtBl-lqo


....check it out, it seems like this is your problem.

MonicaBing

benwavner wrote: »

Hi,

I am aware of a bluetooth hacking code. Basically this is how it works....

1/ A friend of yours downloads a bluetooth hacking code from the internet and installs it onto their phone.

2/ This person opens up the bluetooth hacker application on their phone then "innocently" sends you a file via bluetooth i.e. a ringtone, picture etc. For you to receive this file you have to accept it, this means you both have to enter the same pin.

3/ Once you accept this file, the code is embedded and your phone is "twinned" with their phone....

4/ This now means that your friend can control your phone without you knowing....even with your bluetooth off and not even in range.

....they can turn it on and off
....they can text and phone from THEIR phone using YOUR credit
....they can enter and delete numbers on your phone
....everytime u send a text...a copy of that text goes to their phone
....everytime u get a text...a copy of that text goes to their phone.



GET A NEW PHONE AND DONT ACCEPT BLUETOOTH STUFF FROM ANYONE!!![/QU

WTF????? SERIOUSLY????:eek:

Praetorian Saighdiuir

yes seriously...........I only know because it was done to me, not malisciously. I was away with work for a few months and a mate of mine came into my room and said......here im gona send u a funny clip by bluetooth. He sent it, I accepted, then a few mins later he turned my phone off. Then explained to me all that I explained in my previous post.

fiona-f

It sounds very dodgey. However, one thing that struck me reading your post was to ask whether you have ever been with your boyfriend when he receives one of these calls? Otherwise it could be a case of him simply looking at your texts when you leave your phone down; a more low-tech solution!

Assuming however that your boyfriend is not the untrustworthy one, has what does he tell you about the phone calls? Is it a man or a woman? Does he ever ask him/her who they are and why they are calling? Has he told the caller that you are going to go to the guards unless they stop?

The whole thing sounds seriously spooky and you should definitely do something about it, log it with the guards and check with your phone company. If it's the bluetooth thing above, could you try changing your handset, would that make any difference? At least it would save you the bother of getting a new number.

Best of luck, it sounds like a horrid situation to be in, hope it gets sorted.

Praetorian Saighdiuir

Yes, if you change the handset it will be grand. Unless it as actually her boyfriend that is doing the hack..........thats if it is a hack in the first place!


Isnt technology great:)

chrislad

benwavner wrote: »

yes seriously...........I only know because it was done to me, not malisciously. I was away with work for a few months and a mate of mine came into my room and said......here im gona send u a funny clip by bluetooth. He sent it, I accepted, then a few mins later he turned my phone off. Then explained to me all that I explained in my previous post.

Umm, no. It can be done but you need to be in range. For most phones, the easy solution is to just deleted the phone from the authorized devices. For S60 phones, just do a hard reset. That should sort it out.

Sully

chrislad wrote: »

Umm, no. It can be done but you need to be in range. For most phones, the easy solution is to just deleted the phone from the authorized devices. For S60 phones, just do a hard reset. That should sort it out.

Indeed. I'm assuming whatever application was installed does not use bluetooth, which may allow for this to happen.

As for network.. Highly unlikely someone would do this without being noticed.

mk6705

Bluejacking might be the cause here, but probably not. I've tried it out on my friends and it wouldn't be hard to trick people, but by the way you're talking it seems like they're doing this no matter where you go.

Try this:
Turn off your bluetooth. Very simple way to rule that out. Not just invisible, just turn it off outright. That'll let you rule it out.

If it is someone sinister working for Meteor, then I'd ring up and complain about it, try and get it elevated to a supervisor if you can, and that could catch them out.

One thing I would consider also is maybe you're leaving your phone unattended? Thing about who could read your phone when it's not right there in your hand.

And finally just to clarify, bluejacking is not really a hack, I mean you have to get permission first. However, if your phone is Sony Ericsson or Nokia then it would be a little more susceptible to being bluejacked, as most applications for it would be built around them, particularly message reading functions.

elderlemon

Bluetooth only has a range of 10 metres. I can't see this being the problem.

MonicaBing wrote: »

benwavner wrote: »

Hi,

I am aware of a bluetooth hacking code. Basically this is how it works....

1/ A friend of yours downloads a bluetooth hacking code from the internet and installs it onto their phone.

2/ This person opens up the bluetooth hacker application on their phone then "innocently" sends you a file via bluetooth i.e. a ringtone, picture etc. For you to receive this file you have to accept it, this means you both have to enter the same pin.

3/ Once you accept this file, the code is embedded and your phone is "twinned" with their phone....

4/ This now means that your friend can control your phone without you knowing....even with your bluetooth off and not even in range.

....they can turn it on and off
....they can text and phone from THEIR phone using YOUR credit
....they can enter and delete numbers on your phone
....everytime u send a text...a copy of that text goes to their phone
....everytime u get a text...a copy of that text goes to their phone.



GET A NEW PHONE AND DONT ACCEPT BLUETOOTH STUFF FROM ANYONE!!![/QU

WTF????? SERIOUSLY????:eek:

chrislad

Adro947 wrote: »

If it is someone sinister working for Meteor, then I'd ring up and complain about it, try and get it elevated to a supervisor if you can, and that could catch them out.

Customer care and store staff cannot access this level of information that the OP is saying is being accessed. They can see outgoing calls and texts only, and not the content of them, just the duration and cost. They cannot see, and I can't emphasise this enough, the content of your SMS message. While I'm sure this information is stored, at least temporarily, you're looking at upper IT levels, not the grunts, as such!

MonicaBing

benwavner wrote: »

Yes, if you change the handset it will be grand. Unless it as actually her boyfriend that is doing the hack..........thats if it is a hack in the first place!


Isnt technology great:)

Jays, Big Brother really is everywhere...:mad:

brendanuk

How would someone working for the operator know where you have been (Navan) and the names/relationships you have with the numbers you have called.

imo, far more likely someone you know has got access to your online call history (shared pc maybe?), change your pin just in case.

ibarelycare

Thanks a million for everyone's replies.

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

I think you should definitely contact Meteor. Just don't put your conclusion on it.

If you explain everything to them, and ask them how this is happening, and that you're going to be in touch with the gardai in the next couple of days, they'll have to look into it and you won't sound paranoid:)

MonicaBing wrote: »

Jesus girl get onto the guards immediately and your service provider.

Well I think this is what I'm going to have to do now. I will honestly feel a bit embarrassed about doing it but it's gone way beyond a joke at this stage. Not sure whether to ring Meteor or the guards first though.

TheInquisitor wrote: »

Did you by any chance get your phone from someone else as in you didn't buy it yourself.

I bought my phone directly from Meteor and I have updated my phone since these phonecalls started so that kind of rules out any tampering with my handset.

fiona-f wrote: »

It sounds very dodgey. However, one thing that struck me reading your post was to ask whether you have ever been with your boyfriend when he receives one of these calls? Otherwise it could be a case of him simply looking at your texts when you leave your phone down; a more low-tech solution!

Assuming however that your boyfriend is not the untrustworthy one, has what does he tell you about the phone calls? Is it a man or a woman? Does he ever ask him/her who they are and why they are calling? Has he told the caller that you are going to go to the guards unless they stop?

No I haven't been with him when he's ever gotten any of these calls. I do trust him but unfortunately these thoughts have crossed my mind It's because I'm trying to think of any reasonable explanation. I rarely leave my phone around him when I'm not there, it would always be in my bag or pocket and it still wouldn't explain how he knew I was texting people before I'd even seen him!

Apparently the caller is sometimes a guy and sometimes a girl. He never really says anything to them, he just hangs up.

brendanuk wrote: »

How would someone working for the operator know where you have been (Navan) and the names/relationships you have with the numbers you have called.

imo, far more likely someone you know has got access to your online call history (shared pc maybe?), change your pin just in case.

This isn't really possible, I don't share my laptop with anyone and the information that's being relayed is more than what you'd get from call history.

Thanks again for all the replies

ferrigan101

Just a thought op, does your ohs phone have a record call function in the in-call options? Maybe if he could get a couple recorded you might recognise a voice?

Zapho

I would doubt that bluejacking was the cause of this. But I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of a phone virus (apparently there's about 400 recognised viruses out there).

However OP, if someone was receiving a copy of every message that you send, then you would be getting charged double for every message (assuming you don't have a free text plan) so if you just keep an eye on your credit, that should be a good indicator. I can't speak for other service providers, but on Meteor, you can check your call history online, see any calls or sms messages on your phone. Again, I think its very unlikely its the case.

Could it be in the least bit possible that you've told even just one person all these details? They could be person making the prank calls!

ibarelycare

ferrigan101 wrote: »

Just a thought op, does your ohs phone have a record call function in the in-call options? Maybe if he could get a couple recorded you might recognise a voice?

Good idea, I said this to him and he has that function so he's going to try and record it the next time he gets a call.

Zapho wrote: »

I would doubt that bluejacking was the cause of this. But I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of a phone virus (apparently there's about 400 recognised viruses out there).

However OP, if someone was receiving a copy of every message that you send, then you would be getting charged double for every message (assuming you don't have a free text plan) so if you just keep an eye on your credit, that should be a good indicator. I can't speak for other service providers, but on Meteor, you can check your call history online, see any calls or sms messages on your phone. Again, I think its very unlikely its the case.

Could it be in the least bit possible that you've told even just one person all these details? They could be person making the prank calls!

I'm on a bill phone and always have a quick glance over my bill when it comes so would definitely notice if double messages were being sent. And no, definitely no one else would have known that I was meeting up with the mechanic that day or that I was texting him, because it was just arranged on the day.

I don't know whether I'm going to bother going to the police or not. I think I'm just going to change my number and hope that it all stops.

Sully

Could it be possible your being followed? I assume its unlikely that the mechanic may have a connection with someone who knows you well enough (or your bf) to pass on the info and get the new number?

Gillo

Just an idea (and thinking about it, it sounds a bit conspiracy theory like), at a guess it has to be someone known to both you and your boyfriend, chances it you can narrow it down to a relatively small group of people.
What if you started giving out misinformation to specific people and seeing if it comes back. Say for example you told one group of friends that you have a doctors appointment next week (just mention it in passing), if your boyfriend gets a call about this fictitious doctors visit you can start narrowing it down to who it is.

(That idea sounded a lot better on paper).

The idea thats someone in the network could still hold up, remember the Joe O'Reilly case, it'd easy enough for certain people to know where you've been. That said considering how fast they'd get the boot, I doubt anyone is that stupid to do it.

120_Minutes

To the op, i work in the industry and know a fair bit about phones, an this has me scratching my head. if it happened to me though, i'd be quite paranoid. so dont feel ashamed about it.


like everyone else i thought you might be bluejacked or feeling the wrath of a network employee but reading the rest of youe posts i dont think its the case.

the only thing i can thinkk of is:

1. you're being followed

2. some of your close friends arent really your friends and are doing this to you (provided the could possibly know about the goings on)

3. your boyfriend has a hand in this.


you'll get to the bottom of this eventually. theres an explanation out there...

jordainius

ibarelycare wrote: »

I don't know whether I'm going to bother going to the police or not. I think I'm just going to change my number and hope that it all stops.

To be honest I think you should go to the gardai about this because its very obvious that something sinister is going on here. I have a feeling that this is the work of a "friend".

Also, is there an ex of either yours or your boyfriends who is trying to stir things up between you two? Or is there anyone you can think of who has designs on your fella?

I don't think you should change your number on a point of principle. The perpetrator would be the one who wins if you did that and the personal nature of what this person seems to know about you would in my opinion indicate that this person would probably get your new number fairly quickly.

Gardai would be a lot of hassle for you, but its the most likely way to stop this happening to you.

dubber

Unfortunately, the most obvious answer to this does not involve, tapping, hacking or technology of any kind

Victor

What of the texts beings copied to the associated e-mail account and someone else having access to that account?