was my cell phone being tapped?

I just got off the phone with a friend, he was on break so he called my cell from his cell. During the whole conversation we heard some back ground noise and sometimes got alot of static and heard voices. We both heard it and got kinda freaked out about it but kept talking. I'd also like to say he works at the airport so idk if all those radio signals were just interfering with our phone signal. It was weird so i thought I'd post it here.

Sounds like good old interference, there is a lot at airports too!

If they were tapping it would be silent . The audio would likely be faint as the signal gets split in half, but no static noise should be delivered.

Originally posted by blowfishdl
Sounds like good old interference, there is a lot at airports too!

I thought so becuase of the static and voices we heard.

Thanks

Cell phone signals, or any other for that matter, doesnt get "split in half" when its monitored.

Your cell phone transmits in a circular pattern, ie 360 degree circle, and its picked up by the nearest cell tower. Just because a cell tower to your right is picking up the signal in that direction, doesnt mean that another on the left cant also pick it up and funnel that call to a monitor station, or even an isolated receiver capable of picking up the cell phone signals directly and de-modulating them.

There is no "load" on a signal that travels through the air when picked up by a receiver. And since a monitor receiver relies on the signal that is already going in all directions from your cell phone, you wont ever know if its being monitored.

Chances are your call just experienced signal degridation, which messes with the audio. All cell phone audio is encoded to digital signals. And just like how you can get buffering listening to a stream on the internet and begins to buffer or loose packets, the audio starts to sound funky. Cell phone audio does the very same thing when signal conditions are not favorable.

Plus the frequencies used by the cell phone are "line of sight", which means if you get alot of obstructions between you and the cell tower, your signal is degraded and then you get what is called "multi-path", where your cell signal is bouncing off of different surfaces and reaches the cell tower at delayed intervals, also causing audio skipping or buffering or complete cut outs.

Its similar to how listening to FM radio and suddenly the sound goes in and out as you drive in and out of hilly countryside or congested city blocks.

Much of this is eliminated by the installation of more cell tower sites. But there will always be "dead spots".


Cheers!!!!

Originally posted by EpicJ19
I just got off the phone with a friend, he was on break so he called my cell from his cell. During the whole conversation we heard some back ground noise and sometimes got alot of static and heard voices. We both heard it and got kinda freaked out about it but kept talking. I'd also like to say he works at the airport so idk if all those radio signals were just interfering with our phone signal. It was weird so i thought I'd post it here.

Why were you two freaked out? What were you talking about? Planning to overthrow the government or something?

Seriously though, it was nothing more than a bad phone connection. You guys were both on cell phones and you've already said that your friend works somewhere where a lot of radio signals are being broadcast.

The government's pretty inept at certain things, but I doubt that their phone taps are so bad that you can hear THEM talking on the other end.

Originally posted by RFBurns
Cell phone signals, or any other for that matter, doesnt get "split in half" when its monitored.

This is true, if I were a bit less distracted I would have corrected myself but I knew someone would.

There is actually a really easy way to make a cell phone interceptor using a large metal bowl, a microphone, and a RF television remote control.

I heard that a way to tell if your phone is being tapped is to listen for soft "clicking" noises. Also heard that if you echo there is a chance you're being listened to. Can anyone confirm or deny these rumors. Just wondering.

There's no real way to tell if your being tapped on a cell phone. LAN lines are likely to produce such effects such as a fuzzy signal due to a bug placed within the wiring. Cell phones usually just intercept and you get no warning of it.

Originally posted by MakeSoap
I heard that a way to tell if your phone is being tapped is to listen for soft "clicking" noises. Also heard that if you echo there is a chance you're being listened to. Can anyone confirm or deny these rumors. Just wondering.

Well the telco companies have moved away from the old "twisted pair" wire system a number of years ago. Tho there are still some rual areas where these systems are still in use along the telephone poles. Most however are now underground. In these installations, there are wires going from that tall green looking thing in the ally that is usually behind every other house. This is the interface unit. It connects your phone line from the house to the trunking unit located elsewhere, usually at the end of each block. At the trunking unit, the signals are converted into digital and transmitted via fiber optic cables buried in the ground.

So from the trunking unit where the whole block connects to, they can physically tap the line there, or at the thin tall green box behind your home in the ally.

However this is rarely done, especially when they know that most homes these days have cordless phones. Again another RF signal that can just be tuned into with an appropriate receiver. With this kind of tapping, you wont know if your call is being monitored.

They just scan the frequencies used by cordless phones and use a directional antenna to "zoom" in on your signal. With a radio directional detector also inline with the receiver using the directional antenna, they can plot the coordinates to pinpoint your signal. So if you live in 1234 mainstreet, and the directional finder indicator points in the direction of your home, they know they are tuned to the right signal they wish to monitor.

Always remember, any kind of wireless signal from a cordless phone, cell phone, two way radio, wi-fi, anything RF can be picked up without you knowing it.



Cheers!!!!

Originally posted by EpicJ19
I just got off the phone with a friend, he was on break so he called my cell from his cell. During the whole conversation we heard some back ground noise and sometimes got alot of static and heard voices. We both heard it and got kinda freaked out about it but kept talking. I'd also like to say he works at the airport so idk if all those radio signals were just interfering with our phone signal. It was weird so i thought I'd post it here.

Yes... they are listening to you....

When a land line is tapped you might get echoes and static for a week or two but it usually clears up and then you won't hear anything.
I had read that there were almost 30 different ways a land line could be tapped and that was before cable companies got into offering telephone services.
I had wondered if there was a way to tell if a cell phone was being tapped, I know that static and bad reception are normal for cell phone use but has anyone heard if tapping a cell phone might cause them to turn off for no apparent reason?
I was wondering if anyone had any info on being able to tell when a land line phone from the cable company might be tapped?