I think my neighbor - who is a bit of a nut - may be using a listening device to tap into my cordless phone. Any ideas of spy shops in Fairfax County where I might be able to find an RF Detector? I could order it online, but I want to make sure I get the right device. I would like to get that bastard on a felony charge if this shit is really happening.

If you think a room is bugged then put a television or radio tuned to an AM station in the room with the volume turned up fairly loud.

Then use another radio tuned to FM and start turning the dial very slowly starting at the bottom of the numbers.

If you hear the television station or radio that was tuned to an AM station on your FM radio then you know you are bugged.

Now move around the room very slowly carrying the FM radio. If you hear a squeal or feedback then that means you are getting closer to the bug. The more squealing or feedback the closer you are getting.

(Because most bugs simply transmit via FM)

edit by Cary: closed "strong" HTML tag



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2007 05:43PM by Cary.

Paranoid,
Cordless phones are not secure however,most have a feature that allows you to select the frequencies on your particular phone. (usually 3 available). Try changing to another setting. Then again, why in the world would your neighbor want to listen to your calls in the first place?
Sometimes, on my phone, I can hear transmissions from other cordless
phones and I could care less who my neighbors are dating or what they're
having for dinner. I have also overheard utility trucks and once in Arlington
I could hear police radios when a cruiser drove by the house.
My solution is to use a hard wired phone if Im discussing financial or private
info. Cell phone (digital) is much more secure too. If I thought someone
was intentionally listening in on my calls, notifying the police and the FCC are options.
The neighborhood I live in is very quiet, but I have become aware that most
all my neighbors have very powerful telescopes in their upstairs bedroom
windows. They keep them hidden and they watch all the other neighbors constantly.
I know this because I saw them with my binoculars.

slimey Wrote:
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Try changing to another setting. Then
> again, why in the world would your neighbor want
> to listen to your calls in the first place?


If this person had a life, they wouldn't. Then again, they don't.

Thanks for the tips.

lol, "i saw this with my binoculars."

"intercepting" radio transmissions from a cordless phone is not illegal and is not a violation of any FCC violation.

there have been several court rulings on the issue and what it comes down to is that the court views a "cordless landline phone" as a radio broadcast device that sends a singal beyond the limits of the owners property. intercepting anothers conversation on a cordless phone is not illegal since the owner is broadcasting the information.

this does not apply for cellular telephones since this is encrypted technology and fall under a different frequency band which is illegal to intercept. in fact if you look at most scanners that have the possibility to recive cell phone singals says clearly on it "it is unlawful to use this device to montior cell phone conversations".

the solution is to use a landline, or spend the money on a very high end cordlesss phone that constantly changes frequencies.

robert1685 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "intercepting" radio transmissions from a cordless
> phone is not illegal and is not a violation of any
> FCC violation.
>
> there have been several court rulings on the issue
> and what it comes down to is that the court views
> a "cordless landline phone" as a radio broadcast
> device that sends a singal beyond the limits of
> the owners property. intercepting anothers
> conversation on a cordless phone is not illegal
> since the owner is broadcasting the information.
>
> this does not apply for cellular telephones since
> this is encrypted technology and fall under a
> different frequency band which is illegal to
> intercept. in fact if you look at most scanners
> that have the possibility to recive cell phone
> singals says clearly on it "it is unlawful to use
> this device to montior cell phone conversations".
>
> the solution is to use a landline, or spend the
> money on a very high end cordlesss phone that
> constantly changes frequencies.


Well said. I meant to focus on "intent" in this case. If the neighbor is intenionally intercepting the calls in order to gather information to be
used against someone, that could be very serious. Other devices may come
into play as well. Baby monitoring devices are notorious for picking up
nearby FM transmissions too. As a retired voice telecomm manager, I have
encountered many situations where intercepts were a concern. The advice
I gave to end users was not to say anything on the phone that you wouldnt
want to see on the front page of the Washington Post. If you're that paranoid
perhaps look into voice encryption technology.

The home telephone interface box, as well as the neighborhood network device, which are easy to open, permit tapping to individual phones, if someone thought that the target were worth the effort. The signal could be hardwired and broadcast on UHF and other frequencies, or simply into the home of the interloper. Of course, if your neighbor had access to your home, he could have placed a device in your telephone handset or otherwise secreted in your castle. You may need to find a COMINT specialist with a broadband spectrum analyzer and other counter-surveillance equipment. Or, find a retired defense against sound equipment (DASE) person.
Attachments:

An RF scanner isn't going to help you if your neighbor has a scanner. He doesn't even need to "tap your phone."

If you have an old cordless the 46-49 Mhz range then just about any scanner can pickup your conversations. Next level up would be the 900Mhz phones, still most scanners will pick them. The 1.2Ghz and above then a person has shell out some bucks for the scanner and some of those phones scramble.

My suggestion is to get a new updated cordless.

Second, keep the old cordless to screw with your neighbor. Do what they did in "Something About Mary." Call a friend a couple of times and make up some wild story that will drive your neighbor nuts; You just won a $280 Million dollar lottery, Your a lesbian and you want this nut to join in but don't know how to approach him, be creative and enjoy.

FYI - It is not illegal to listen to others cordless. It is illegal to share that information or use it for gain.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2007 08:36PM by Lurker..

In what way do you suspect your neighbor is using a tap to intercept your cordless phone? Also, I hope you are not using a cordless phone that is two decades old. The newer cordless phones, which use 2.4GHz, 5.8GHz, and "DECT 6.0", are immune from police scanners, not only because most of them use digital signals, but also because most police scanners do not even cover those frequencies. Look for phones with words such as: "Digital", "Spread Spectrum".

You might also want to padlock the small gray box behind your home, where the phone line enters your house. Transmitters can be placed there, as well.

If you are really serious about catching your neighbor, perhaps starting a little disinformation campaign with your phone may be in order.....:)

If he is married then talk about how everyday at noon in his own house you are pounding his wife and he doesnt know it. If the jerk shows up at home noon the next day then you know he is listening.

hmm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If he is married then talk about how everyday at
> noon in his own house you are pounding his wife
> and he doesnt know it. If the jerk shows up at
> home noon the next day then you know he is
> listening.


Better hope he doesnt show up with a gun and ready for action. On the realistic side though, I think the best question to ask is why would someone want to take the risk of tapping someones phone in the first place? What is being discussed
that they would want to know about? The reason I say this is because I once had
a fellow employee approach me during lunch to tell me she thought her telephone
was being "bugged". I knew her fairly well, and trust me, she wasnt exactly
a likely target for such a thing. The most controversial thing in her life
was which shoes to wear to her monthly garden club meeting. She explained that
a couple of young men had moved in across the hall from her apartment and they
were always carrying "computer equipment" in and out their apartment and she
thought they were "wierd looking". She also said she could hear static and noises
on her phone since they moved in. I advised her to call her local telephone
provider and report the problem. Months went by and she approached me with the
same story again. I asked again if she had called her telephone company to report
the problem. She replied "No, I'm afraid to!" I think her paranoia was the
result of the early stages of Alzheimers and a lack of social interaction, but
who am I to judge? BTW, the young men next door to her turned out to be a couple
of dot.commer's who had just graduated from college and started working for
a local company. Yes, they did sometimes bring equipment in and out of their
apartment, but could have cared less what the elderly lady across the hall
wore to the garden club meeting.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2007 12:17AM by slimey.

Well, for some background, I used to be friends with this neighbor. However, my wife discussed some very personal medical information with this neighbor, who we trusted at the time. Turns out, this neighbor basically told everyone on the street about it, making light of it in the process. I had a very public falling out with this person and have not spoken with them in a year. However, this person remains obsessed with me and my family, showing up at places they know we will be at, setting up a camera aimed at our yard (we believe). This person is mentally ill, so I imagine they are capable of pretty much anything.

this is why i don't have any mentally ill friends... :)

bdimag Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> this is why i don't have any mentally ill
> friends... :)


Unfortunately, I didn't realize just how mentally ill this person was until I confronted them. I mean, we suspect that they tried to poison my dog in the weeks after the confrontation. This person is off their f-ing rocker.

Are you dure it is the neigbor that is off their rocker? Sounds like you are more than paranoid.

Mirror Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you dure it is the neigbor that is off their
> rocker? Sounds like you are more than paranoid.


I guess I would be more than paranoid if I could say I can prove these things, which I can't. However, the timing of the dog suddenly getting sick for no apparent reason after being in the yard for five minutes leads me to believe something was out in the yard that shouldn't have been there. This was only a few weeks after the blow-up happened and it never happened before and it hasn't happened since.

was it around the time of the pet food recall? did you have a vet look at the dog? how old was the dog?

just curious? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> was it around the time of the pet food recall?
No

> did you have a vet look at the dog?
No

how old was
> the dog?
A couple years old.

Believe you me, I wouldn't even consider it a poisoning if it weren't for the fact it was so weird. I've owned dogs all my life and have never had one react the way this dog did. He was fine one minute, then the next he was barfing and shitting all over the place. After an hour or two he was perfectly fine.

Paranoid Android Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think my neighbor - who is a bit of a nut - may
> be using a listening device to tap into my
> cordless phone. Any ideas of spy shops in Fairfax
> County where I might be able to find an RF
> Detector? I could order it online, but I want to
> make sure I get the right device. I would like to
> get that bastard on a felony charge if this shit
> is really happening.

if you kill him, he wont be able to spy on you.

then again, if you want to try to expose him, plan a fake conversation in advance with your friend talking about how you killed someone or something and you buried part of the body in your neighbor's yard. if you see the cops or a bunch of hole pop up in his yard, you know he's spying on you... so then you kill him and bury him in the various holes he dug... err... or something like that.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2007 10:26PM by Gravis.

Gravis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Paranoid Android Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I think my neighbor - who is a bit of a nut -
> may
> > be using a listening device to tap into my
> > cordless phone. Any ideas of spy shops in
> Fairfax
> > County where I might be able to find an RF
> > Detector? I could order it online, but I want
> to
> > make sure I get the right device. I would like
> to
> > get that bastard on a felony charge if this
> shit
> > is really happening.
>
> if you kill him, he wont be able to spy on you.
>
> then again, if you want to try to expose him, plan
> a fake conversation in advance with your friend
> talking about how you killed someone or something
> and you buried part of the body in your
> neighbor's yard. if you see the cops or a bunch
> of hole pop up in his yard, you know he's spying
> on you... so then you kill him and bury him in the
> various holes he dug... err... or something like
> that.


Gravis,
I'm starting to get the impression that you are either a mortician or a
salesman for a cemetary trying to drum up some business.

slimey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gravis,
> I'm starting to get the impression that you are
> either a mortician or a
> salesman for a cemetary trying to drum up some
> business.

no no, nothing like that. just on the topic, are you looking for any particular model of coffin for a loved one? we just got in some new comfy solid oak ones with plush interiors. :P


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

say, have you got any of the kind with escape sytems, alarm bells, etc. for if they arent dead yet?

KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> say, have you got any of the kind with escape
> sytems, alarm bells, etc. for if they arent dead
> yet?


when they replace your blood with embalming fluid, there is no doubt you are dead. if you by some means are alive, it's means you are zombie and we are anti-zombie because they always steal our business.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

Gravis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> slimey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Gravis,
> > I'm starting to get the impression that you
> are
> > either a mortician or a
> > salesman for a cemetary trying to drum up some
> > business.
>
> no no, nothing like that. just on the topic, are
> you looking for any particular model of coffin for
> a loved one? we just got in some new comfy solid
> oak ones with plush interiors. :P


Gravis,
No, not yet anyway. Besides, the VA will give me one of those "economy" models
when I take the dirt nap. Stuff me in a sleeping bag and that way my wife and
kids can have more money to throw a party.

good eavesdrop on your neighboors