Signs that you may be being eavesdropped.
James M. Atkinson, Granite Island Group
Signs that you may be being eavesdropped
Obvious warning signs of covert eavesdropping or bookmarking.
1. Your competitors may know your professional secrets or confidential business matters.
This is the most common indicator. Theft of confidential information is a multi-billion ($) industry in the United States. Often, you do not know that information has been leaked and will not guess how it happened.
2. Secret meetings and pricing are less secret.
Confidential meetings and pricing are very popular targets for spies operating against corporations. How would you like it if the plans of a corporation that accepted your planning proposals became widely known? Would copies of your product plans be useful to your competitors?
3. People seem to know about your activities when they shouldn't.
4. You notice strange sounds or voltage changes on your telephone lines
These are usually caused by a person eavesdropping when they make a wire connection or install a listening device. Monitoring devices often cause some anomalies on the telephone line.
5. You notice static, crackling, or popping on your telephone lines
They are caused by the discharge of a capacitor that occurs when two conductors are connected (when a bug or listening device is connected to a telephone line)
6. You hear sounds coming from your telephone receiver when it is on the hook
This phenomenon is usually caused by a hook-switch bypass circuit that turns the telephone into a listening microphone (as well as a talking device). Apparently, someone is listening to everything you say or do within thirty feet of your telephone.
7. Your telephone rings frequently and no one answers, or you hear a faint dial tone or a high-pitched shrill/squealing noise.
This is a sign of a controlled device or extension cord on your line. It is also a key indicator of a harmonic bug or electronic ear.
8. Your radio suddenly produces strange static.
Many bugging devices operate on frequencies in the FM radio band. These signals «jam» the FM radio near the bug. Look for transmissions at the far end of the FM band and in any quiet area of the FM band. If the receiver starts screeching, move it slowly around the room until the sound becomes the highest (this is called feedback detection)
9. Your TV or radio suddenly produces strange interference
Television broadcast frequencies are often used to mask the signal used in eavesdropping, but such devices also tend to interfere with television reception (usually on VHF).
10. You have been the victim of a nighttime break-in, but nothing was stolen.
Professional eavesdroppers often break into a home or office they are targeting and very rarely leave any evidence of their break-in; however, the owners of these premises often «discover that something is wrong.»
11. Wall-mounted electrical installation products seem to be slightly shifted.
One of the most common places where eavesdropping devices are hidden is in or behind electrical outlets and switches. In this case, it is necessary to remove the specified installation products. Look for small pieces of debris on the floor directly under the electrical switch.
12. Small, coin-sized spots of different colors suddenly appeared on the wall.
Indicates that a video camera or pinhole microphone has recently been installed.
13. Pieces or dust from the wall covering are visible on the floor near the wall.
This is also a sign that a pinhole microphone or video camera has been installed somewhere here.
14. Small pieces of suspended ceiling may be visible on the floor or on the surface of your desk.
A major indicator that ceiling tiles have shifted and that someone may have installed a hidden video camera or other eavesdropping device in your office or near your desk.
15. You notice that the “phone company” trucks and employees are spending a lot of time near your home or office doing repair work.
16. Telephone, cable, plumbing, or air conditioning repairmen are showing up to do work when no one has called them.
A very common trick used by eavesdroppers to gain entry to a facility is to stop the facility from operating and then show up to solve the problem. While they are solving the problem, they also install listening devices.
17. Service and delivery trucks are parked nearby, with no one in them.
These vehicles are commonly used as listening posts, beware of any vehicle with a ladder or tubular rack on the roof. Also beware of any vehicle with tinted windows or blind spots (like a utility van). A vehicle listening post can be anything from a small Geo Tracker, Suburban, Blaser, Trooper, or a truck. Look for any vehicle that has a person in the back that can hide.
18. Your door locks suddenly “feel bad,” suddenly become “uncooperative,” or fail completely.
Primary evidence that a lock has been tampered with. It has been tampered with or bypassed.
19. Furniture has been slightly moved and no one knows why.
A very popular practice is to place listening devices either behind furniture or in the furniture itself (couches, chairs, lamps, etc.). It usually does not go unnoticed by people living or working in the target area if furniture has been moved even a fraction of an inch. Pay close attention to the impressions furniture leaves on carpets and the position of lamp shadows.
20. It looks like things have been rummaged through, but nothing is missing.
A “less than professional spy” will often rummage through a target’s home for hours, but will rarely do so in a neat and orderly manner. Common places to rummage are the backs of desk drawers, the bottoms of file cabinets, and closets.
21. Certain items have “appeared” in your office or home, but no one knows how they got there.
Typical objects to look for and be wary of include: clocks, exit signs, spray heads, radios, and lamps.
Who gets bugged?
Anyone can be a target for covert eavesdropping, but some are at higher risk than others due to their financial status, occupation, legal status, or marital situation.
- Spouses regularly bug each other
- Parents bookmark their children
- Businessmen bookmark other businessmen
- Scientists bookmark other scientists
- Students bookmark professors
- Lawyers bookmark other lawyers
- Insurance companies bookmark accident victims
- Construction companies bookmark other construction companies
- Traders bookmark clients
- Tax agencies bookmark debtors
- Police bookmark suspects
- Recruiters bookmark HR managers
- Rock fans bookmark musicians
- Department stores bookmark shoppers and salespeople
High-Threat Personal Situations (When to Be Concerned)
You (or someone around you):
- Have been involved in any kind of litigation or lawsuit
- Have been questioned, arrested, or brought to trial by the police
- Is in the process of getting married, divorced, or separated
- A minister or religious leader (e.g., deacon, bishop, pastor)
- Runs any type of elected public office
- Elected to any public office (e.g., mayor, elector, school principal)
- Manager or scientist for any large company
- Recently filed an insurance claim (exceeding $10,000)
- Participated in political demonstrations or activities
- Employed by a defense contractor, the Department of Energy, etc.
- There is a private investigator snooping around
- You are in the top income bracket
Remember that anyone with money, power, influence, or access to sensitive, classified, or personal information is at serious personal risk of being wiretapped.
High-Risk Business Situations
- Your company has stock that is up for sale
- Your company has a workforce problem (union activity or negotiations)
- Your company is involved in litigation or court proceedings
- Your company is in the process of layoffs due to lack of work (or has just started).
- Your company is in the fashion, automotive, advertising, or retail industries
High-risk occupations
- Attorney
- Doctor
- Chiropractor
- Dentist
- Architect
- Policeman
- Judge
- Elected to any public office
- Mayor
- Elector
- School principal
- College professor
- Designer
- Programmer
- Scientist at a major company
- Employee of any defense contractor
- Employee of the Department of Energy
- Any minister or religious leader (e.g., deacon, bishop, pastor)
- Corporate buyer or sales agent
- Scientists planting bugs for other scientists
- Construction manager or contractor
- Any type of sales or trade
- Labor union manager
- Fashion
- Advertising
- Human Resources Manager
According to the FBI, the following types of businesses are at EXTREME risk and are very common targets for illegal planting of bugs, tapping into communication lines, and monitoring:
Materials:
- Synthesis and production of materials
- Materials for electronics and photonics
- Ceramics
- Composites
- High-quality metals and alloys
Production:
- Flexible production with the introduction of computerization
- Equipment for processing intelligence data
- Micro- and nano production
- System control technologies
Information and Communications:
- Software
- Micro and Optoelectronics
- Creating High-Quality Computers and Networks
- Creating High-Resolution Imaging and Displays
- Sensors and Signal Processing
- Data Storage and Peripherals
- Computer Simulation
Biotechnology and Life Science
- Applied Molecular Biology
- Computational Chemistry
- Medical Technology
Transportation:
- Aeronautics
- Surface Transportation Engineering
Energy and the Environment
- Energy Technologies
- Pollution Minimization, Environmental Restoration, Loss Reduction Management