I've heard that sometimes when you're on the phone the FBI checks and listens in on your conversation. and sometimes even on Instant Messenger. is that true? and if so when are they doing it and/or when are they more apt to do it?
2006-11-12 10:28:27 · 8 answers · asked by coconutverbana 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Actually, the techniques have been publicised and, as mentioned above, over-hyped for quite some time. When someone says they “tap your phone,” it congers up thoughts of men hiding in cargo vans with large reel-to-reel tape recorders, listening intently to every word you say. This is not the case. 99% of all long distance phone calls go through a wireless relay system that has been in place since the 50’s. These relays are highly focused, but they still use radio frequency to transfer your voice from one network to another. It is around these relays that almost anyone can listen in on phone calls if they have the correct equipment. Mind you, being in possession of this type of equipment is illegal, but it can be done.
The government will set up listening posts close to the relays and take in as many conversations as possible. They are not able to get them all and the conversations are not listened to by a human. They go into a digital loop recorder where the conversation is evaluated by a quasi voice recognition system. This system is preprogrammed with specific words, phrases, and even specific types of sentence structures designed to identify potential terrorist conversations. Each conversation they are able to evaluate is rated by the computer. If the computer finds no reason for the conversation to be evaluated further, the entire conversation is purged from the system. If there are a sufficient number of triggers (words, phrases, structure) in the conversation, they will flag the conversation for review by a human.
This will be the first time a conversation is listened to by a human. He has no idea who is talking and he really doesn’t care at this point. All he wants to do is a quick, down and dirty, evaluation of the conversation to see if he believes it is terrorist related. If he finds nothing indicating terrorist activity, the conversation is purged from the system and he moves on to the next.
This is just one of the many systems used to monitor phone conversations in the USA. The technique was a grey area even before the Patriot Act became an issue. It will continue to be an issue for ever. If this is something you feel strongly about and do not believe is the right thing to do, the best action is to become involved in the political end of it and work to make a difference.
Personally, I have no problem with it. They can listen to my conversations all day long. I spend most of my time working on the phone anyway. They would probably fall asleep listening to my conversations.
I hope this helps.
2006-11-12 12:55:34 · answer #1 · answered by R_SHARP 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no the FBI does not tap any phones without a warrant and have to have probable cause. If you are talking to a suspected terrorist the NSA may listen in to the call but not unless you have dealings with suspected terrorists.
Most of the internet is checked by computer for key words and various other means to see if any suspected messages are being passed.
2006-11-12 13:59:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is true. When the Government tells you it's not doing that then you know they are doing it. I have seen arrest's for private E-Mails.
AS far as the phone. Put a volt meter on it. Cause it to ring with another phone. If you get 10-12 volts it's ok. If you only get 8 volts it's been tapped.
2006-11-12 10:37:57 · answer #3 · answered by jl_jack09 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
you may desire to verify all your settings and courses that are working .. If somebody has get entry to on your telephone they could deploy a spyware application that exhibits all of them your activity and texts and calls .. Now this is prohibited in some strategies .. even regardless of the undeniable fact that this is supposedly to be utilized with the help of parents on minors .. now as for police or government .. no thank you to tell .. Take your telephone to the provider middle and have them look by way of it ,.. thats how we found out my neice's Ex had hers tapped .. He could desire to study all her texts or perhaps on the spot Messages and facebook documents. CREEPER ..!!
2016-12-28 19:58:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of 911 and other terrorists acts it seems necessary for the gov. to check up on us. If you don't have anything to hide they wont bother you, only suspicious messages and threats are investigated. I think it is over hyped. They monitor only out of country calls.
2006-11-12 12:14:02 · answer #5 · answered by Chuck C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they think that you're a terrorist or connected to immigration crimes, and fraud and conspiracy, they can look through your doctor records, school records, IM records, e-mails, EVERYTHING. They won't leave any stones unturned. It's call the Patriot Act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_act#Enforcement
2006-11-12 10:30:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
not the fbi its the nsa. they use computers to do it 24/7
2006-11-12 10:30:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
currently that is true..beep beep...
2006-11-12 10:55:07 · answer #8 · answered by cork 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋