6 warning signs that your smartphone could be tapped

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The phones we use have changed over the years. They are lighter, faster, bigger and all in all, much better devices than they used to be. But all the innovations that have been made to devices have also opened up avenues for elements that might not have your best interests in heart. And it’s not just the big bad government either. Hackers, employers, your ex and even the press could be trying to read your emails and listen to your calls. They could even be sending texts or altering information that is displayed on your interface. Fortunately, there are ways in which you can use to tell if your cell phone has been tapped.

 

Battery problems

Battery problems

In addition to the general problems with overheating associated with batteries which could be because of numerous apps that are running or consumption of a large amount of data. But this could also be due to uninvited software that could be running in the background without your knowledge. This could be what's allowing someone to listen in on you. But before you jump the gun, it would be a good idea to rule out the possibilities of this being caused by other factors.

Increased Mobile Data Usage
 

Increased Mobile Data Usage

You will probably have a handle on how data you use every month. If you happen to observe a spike in the amount of data that is being consumed and you are unable to narrow down the reason, there is a very good chance that this could be because of a third party intercepting your messages.

If there are malicious software installed, these could be using your data to send information to an outside source.

Unwanted Ads and Apps

Unwanted Ads and Apps

It's important to be aware of what you have installed on your phone. A Trojan called Hummer managed to infect 1.4 million Android devices per day in early 2016, it is estimated that the virus creators managed to obtain $0.50 per infection. We're talking $500,000 in just 24 hours.

Hummer tries to gain root access i.e. administrative rights to your devices that will allow it to download unwanted content and makes it incredibly difficult to get rid of.

General Performance issues

General Performance issues

HummingBad is a Trojan similar to Hummer that makes its way to devices when a user accidentally downloads a fraudulent app. The malware tricks you into downloading fake updates to get complete control of your devices. It also encourages pop-up advertisements that transmit information to a server controlled by Yingmob, a group of Chinese hackers.

This is not isolated to HummingBad either. Performance lags can be observed whenever or however a cybercriminal bugs your phone.

Strange Texts or Messages

Strange Texts or Messages

Messages that are a series of digits, characters and symbols should not be ignored. This could very likely be because of spyware utilized by cybercriminals. You get the coded messages because of the improper installation and the messages are actually sets of instructions sent over by the server.

Change in website interfaces

Change in website interfaces

Most of us know better than to click on suspicious links sent to you on emails or texts but what happens when but what happens when sites that you frequently visit have been replaced by proxies that intercept communications between you and the site you're trying to visit. We can figure this out by looking for any change in the appearance of the website.

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