WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Cell phone spyware can listen, track your every move
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CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Law enforcement says crooks know spyware software is out there -- it's the good guys who need to educate themselves.
Various spyware programs -- even those for phone -- can be purchased online.
If someone installs a particular type of software on your phone and -- as the test below proves, it's not that difficult of a process to do -- that person can monitor your every call, text and actual conversations.
WBTV recently tested the concept of cell phone "stalking" by having a professional install such software on a WBTV producer's phone.
In our test with Sarah, a WBTV producer, we found that a stalker would know every time she uses her Blackberry.
So when Sarah texted her friend Alison: "meet here pizza uptown after work"... The "stalker" could be sitting outside in his truck with a computer that notifies him of her texts and calls.
That's because the stalker gets the message, too.
The stalker also knows Sarah will meet her friend Alison. He knows they're going Uptown. He knows they're going for pizza. And Sarah has no idea.
Experts say spyware is most often being used in stalking situations, domestic cases (cheating spouses or monitoring your kids) and to steal someone's identity.
Steve Hickey is a digital forensic program developer at CPCC. He says cellular spyware is becoming more and more popular -- mainly with stalkers and domestic situations.
"You don't need to be super high-tech at all. Anyone can do it, if they're comfortable operating a phone," Hickey said.
WBTV had Hickey show us how it was done, but we won't reveal how easy it was -- we don't want this to be a "how to" -- but directions were simple, color-coded, and it took less than half-an-hour to install.
During WBTV's simulated "stalking" while using the software, we showed that even the stalker could follow Sarah everywhere.
And the stalker has all the element of surprise because Sarah never knew -- never, ever, ever knew -- she was being tracked.
The spyware can be installed on any Internet-based phone... Blackberry, iphone, etc. Depending on the software and the phone, sometimes you can listen in on phone conversations, sometimes you just hear everything through a speaker.
It's only illegal if you don't tell the person whose phone you installed it on.
There are ways to protect yourself from this -- some are free, some cost money -- and WBTV is testing them.
For a story about how to protect yourself, tune in to Channel 3 at 6 pm Friday..
