How do you know if your phone has been tapped? We have become accustomed to our phones being tapped, not just by governments.
However, hackers and ex-partners can access your smartphone. Hackers, your employer, a former partner, and even the media can tap into your smartphone. They could be listening to you, reading your emails, and altering your interface. How do you find out if your phone has been tapped?
Here are some ways to check if your phone is being tapped.
1. Battery problems
Battery problems were an indication of a phone tapping before Android and iOS became popular. Smartphones still have hot batteries.
You are probably familiar with overheating batteries. Perhaps you’ve even complained to a store about it. In most cases, you will be told that it is standard for smartphones. Apple, for instance, will only be concerned if your phone gets too hot and shuts down.
Why is your smartphone so hot? Although your smartphone may get hotter from using multiple apps and media consumption, it shouldn’t cause too much damage. Your battery will be used more by watching a lot of videos than by listening to music or podcasts. Your battery can be a problem regardless of how often your phone has been tapped.
However, a hot phone battery could be an indication of cell phone tapping. Malicious software might be running in the background and allowing another person to listen in.
Be suspicious if your phone is not charging.
Keep an eye on your phone. Remember which apps you have used and how they impact your battery. It’s possible that your phone is constantly low on battery, even if you don’t use it very often. You should eliminate all other possible causes before you look for malicious purposes.
You might also be experiencing hot symptoms with your phone. Are you sunbathing near your handset? Are you using multiple apps at once? Are you worried that your phone case is storing heat?
Malicious software can still be detected by high temperatures or low power. The next step is to watch out for signs that your phone has been tapped.
2. Steady Growth in Mobile Data Use
It can help you save a lot of money by keeping an eye on your phone bills. It can also help you detect spyware.
Numerous apps consume huge amounts of data, especially if you don’t have access to public Wi-Fi. Even worse is if your children use your device away from home. You should still know how much data you use each month.
You need to find out why this is happening if it increases significantly. It could be that third parties are intercepting your messages if you don’t know the cause.
Malicious software can use your data allowance to send the information it has collected to an external source. This means that it will not only rely on your home Wi-Fi but also eat data from wherever you are.
3. Apps and Ads Not Wanted
It is easy to get too familiar with your operating system and forget half of the apps that are there. It’s important to know what apps are running on your phone. They could be malicious if you haven’t installed them.
You don’t need to jailbreak your phone to download fake apps. 17 fraud apps were discovered on the App Store for iDevices. Although they were believed to be Trojan malware, these were actually an adware that presented malicious ads to users.
Adware can be used by hackers to collect data and allow them to open backdoors to hackers. This allows for the installation of additional fraudulent software. These ads can be intrusive and encourage victims to click them even if they are not meant to.
Remember that clicking on links can lead to additional malware.
These apps were removed by Apple but may still be present on older systems. They are a strong example of malicious apps that made it through official checks. Apple stated that it had removed 60 million spam app reviews in 2020. While that’s a positive thing, it’s alarming to see the widespread of fake reviews.
Malware can increase data usage and generate a lot more ad traffic.
4. General Performance Issues
Your device will slow down if you use more data. Malware could gain root access to your phone or trick you into downloading a fake system update. This will give hackers complete control over your activities. Hackers could also have access to information about the victim.
Consider all the information that is being sent to and from your phone. Your device will be slower due to this. You might think your phone is old. However, performance will suffer regardless of the method used by cybercriminals to hack your phone.
Real apps can use power, but shouldn’t affect the device’s response time.
It is possible to see which apps use the most RAM. You can check which apps are using the most RAM by going to Settings > General > iPhone Memory. Click Settings > Apps on Android and then swipe to Running. You will likely see Photos and Music at the top of your list. This is where you can assess the app’s usage and find out if it is accurate.
5. Strange messages can indicate phone tapping
How can you tell if your phone has been tapped? It’s possible that you are ignoring these signs. You might mistakenly think it’s spam, a nuisance, or an error number. However, this could be a sign that something is wrong.
Suspicious SMS may include a seemingly random series of numbers, characters, and symbols that will immediately make you suspicious, but not necessarily malicious.
Don’t ignore suspicious messages.
This is most likely due to spyware that cybercriminals have installed. It may not have been installed correctly, and coded messages may appear in your email inbox. These messages are likely to be noticed by you. These random data sets are instructions from hackers to alter fraudulent applications. It could also be an app trying to reach its creator.
Your phone could also be compromised if your family or friends claim you are sending them strange texts or emails. This could indicate that your phone may be infected and trying to install malware onto the devices of your family members.
You should be alerted for suspicious activity. Check your social media profiles and messaging chains. Also, check your outbox and sent folder. Be suspicious if you don’t recall sending anything.
6. Websites look different
You can avoid being ripped off by staying alert.
This is a common scam, but it’s not impossible to avoid. Everyone forgets advice and makes mistakes. It can be costly if you make a mistake by clicking on a URL within an email or text.
It doesn’t have to happen that you are redirected via a message to a fake link. A malicious app could be installed on your phone and alter the appearance of websites that you visit.
This malware acts as a proxy and intercepts communications between you, the malware, and the site you are trying to visit. You might see a fake page or it could simply keep track of what you type. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using Private Browsing.
Online banking, or any other service that requires personal information, can make this a real problem. This could include financial details or a password.
It is possible that you won’t notice any difference. These could be minor changes like pixelated logos. If you notice something unusual, it could be because the website is trying out a new interface. Comparing the mobile version to that on a PC is possible, but responsive themes may look slightly different.
7. Use Android Forwarding Codes Like *#21#
It only works with Android phones, but it is a great way to see if any of your data has been forwarded to third parties. To protect your privacy and security, you can use a secret USSD code.
Simply go to the keypad interface, type *#21* or *#67# and then tap on the dial icon. Try another one if the first doesn’t work. Although they can be used on different devices, all three serve the same purpose: to direct you to a screen detailing Call Forwarding.
It will show Voice calls, Data and SMS as well as Packets, PADs, and other information. Each one should be marked “Not forwarded” after it. If they say “Forwarded”, it is likely that your smartphone has been compromised.
What can you do? Simply type #002# on your dial screen and then press the dial symbol once more. You should see “Erasure failed” on your screen, which means that you have successfully stopped the cyberattack. To navigate out of this screen, tap OK.
However, this is not the end of it. If your device has been tapped by someone, it can be easily hacked. Check out the following ways to increase Android security.
How can you tell if your phone is being taped?
“Is my smartphone being tapped?” Most likely not. You don’t need to be paranoid. Most people won’t be harmed by a phone tap. It’s worthwhile to brush up on basic security precautions.
Download only official apps from the app store to reduce the chance of infection. Apple and Google screen all apps and games before they are made available to the public. Although mistakes do happen, it’s not common.
