Cell Phone Surveillance
From LoveToKnow Cellphones
Are you a subject of cell phone surveillance? Could you be? Tracking someone based on where their cell phone is by using GPS is more common than you might think. Sometimes it's legal and other times it isn't. There are also other ways to keep tabs on people without utilizing GPS; it's as simple as picking up the right frequency.
Types of Cell Phone Surveillance
With cell phone surveillance, the following are possible:
- Monitoring who the individual calls and when
- Finding out the contents of the conversations by simply listening in
- Knowing where they are at all—or almost all—times.
The range of intentions goes from being worried about someone's safety or tracking a felon to tracking an innocent person with plans to do harm when his or her guard is down.
How It's Done
Keep an eye on your phone. Otherwise, you may fall victim to cell phone surveillance or tracking. If someone can have a few minutes with your phone while you aren't looking, they can register it on a GPS surveillance site and then erase the notification messages from the phone. If they put it back where they found it before you notice that it was missing, you will have no idea that you're being "watched."
Without being able to register your phone on a tracking site, it is unlikely that the average person can track you without your knowledge. However, keep in mind that your cell phone conversations could be intercepted. Suddenly, the neighborhood knows more about you than you would like.
How It's Used
Boyfriends or girlfriends can use it to track their possibly-cheating lovers; spouses can keep an eye on what "belongs" to them. Stalkers can watch their prey. Police can track felons on the run. Nosy neighbors can get a thrill. Parents can watch their kids' every move. According to a CNET article, the FBI could feasibly see where you are whether you're a suspect of wrongdoing or not. There are so many ways that cell phone tracking can be used.
While there are a lot of negatives to the usage of cell phones as surveillance methods, there are also positives. In 2007, there was a case in Kansas City, where an 18-year-old girl was kidnapped and killed. By using GPS to locate her cell phone, the police found her body in the woods four days later, putting an end to the case.
Another case included a woman who claimed to be the victim of a crime. She had supposedly been kidnapped, assaulted, and left in a ditch in a different state than the one she was from. However, the police traced her to her home using her cell phone and found the claims to be false.
Legal Issues
Some plans come with a feature that allows you to track people on your plan. That means you can keep an eye on your kids (and your spouse). It's perfectly legal when it's your shared cell phone plan. Check with Verizon and Sprint for more information on those options.
In most cases in the United States and in many other countries, however, using cell phones as tracking devices is illegal unless the person knows they are being tracked and agree to it.
A Final Word
There are positives and negatives to cell phone surveillance. In most cases, the motives are good intentioned and involve safety. In others, if not well-intentioned, the surveillance (such as listening in on a cell phone conversation because they happened to intercept the signal) is at least harmless. There are still others who have malicious intent, so keep an eye on your phone to avoid becoming a victim.
Learn More
This page has been accessed 483 times. This page was last modified 04:27, 3 July 2009.
© 2006-2009 LoveToKnow Corp.
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