Counter Surveillance: Sweeping for Hidden Cell Phone

[todd2 0]

Suspect cell phone transmitter hidden in vehicle. I bought one of those

cheap broad bandwidth "bug detectors" with the 4 LEDs but

it doesn't work that well as it seems it's always detecting some signal

if the sensitivity is high, or detecting nothing otherwise.

 

What would a professional use to locate a hidden cell phone? (Yes,

if it wakes up only periodically, then the sweep will take a long time.)

[ak357 0]

Suspect cell phone transmitter hidden in vehicle. I bought one of those

cheap broad bandwidth "bug detectors" with the 4 LEDs but

it doesn't work that well as it seems it's always detecting some signal

if the sensitivity is high, or detecting nothing otherwise.

 

What would a professional use to locate a hidden cell phone? (Yes,

if it wakes up only periodically, then the sweep will take a long time.)

 

cell phone jammer will help you

[rory 0]

What exactly are you looking for, a cell phone?

[scorpion 0]

This cannot be done by a DIY (Do It Yourself).

 

The cellphone device is treated the same as a GPS tracker in my book.

Note how long your cellphone lasts with your battery, and how long you have to charge it. I would not be afraid of a cell phone with software that is used to listen in on you. It would die with in 2 days?

 

I would be afraid more of your smart cellphone / PDA that has software downloaded in to it.

Note: They cannot download this into your phone by remote! They have to have access to your phone, and they have to go to a URL, and then they have to enter their user name, and password, and then download their software, and then they have to test your phone.

 

If you are keeping track of your phone then you should be safe.

 

If someone tells you that they can remote download software in to your phone then they are full of it. It can be done but this is beyond the simple person on the street, and you are really going to have to work with an engineer of the phone provider, and you are going to have to work with a person on the inside of the phone provider to push the software into the smart phone / PDA.

 

If they can prove it for real with a cellphone, then tell them to call me, and I will buy it.

 

There is not one software on the internet that does this. Most of the software in the cheap range is a ripoff, and you have to be carefull.

 

 

RF DETECTOR:

If yours has the knob to increase, and decrease sensitivity then you are good to go.

 

It is designed to "find" a signal from a distance. You will then turn the sensitivity down. This will allow you to get closer to the device. You will keep turning the sensitivity down in increments. This will allow you to get right up on the device's location.

 

Here is what we have to do!

 

Why are "they" targeting you.

 

My wife / husband / girlfriend / boyfriend put the device on.

 

If you have fear then turn up the radio real loud. They are not going to be able to hear a thing!

 

You will have to make your calls somewhere else.

 

You can make up a false situation, and make a story, and use a local hotel/motel and then park off to the side of the place to see if they go to the same location. If so then they can "hear" you!

 

___________________________________________________________

 

I am going to treat this like a GPS tracking device. I would suspect this also if they are listening in to you.

 

Question: Did they buy it? How much do they earn, or where do they get their money?

 

Answer:

 

They earn $20,000, to $30,000. This tells me that they are not going to spend more then $600 at the most to get the info that they need.

(Each situation has to be individually evaluated). They are more apt to buy from a spy store, or from an online "spy store".

 

Solution:

Look under the car at the rear. You should find it in five seconds flat with a flashlight.

 

If they have access to an obcene amount of money then anything is possible based on how much they will spend.

 

Question:

Will they hire someone rather than install themselves?

I will at this time dismiss "techies" "the neighbor who is a cable guy", "ham radio operators", and "electronic engineers". I do so as they do not do this for a living, and they fall automatically in to the NOVICE range (although there may be one in 100 that can do it right).

 

A pro is too expensive for a $20K to $30K unless there is some serious cash, or child custody, or you are about to die when tracked.

 

____________________________________________________________

 

Look at online spy shops, and look what they offer for live tracking devices.

Memorize what they look like. Look under your car, or under your seat. This is where 95% of the devices will be.

 

There are two types of devices. HISTORICAL, AND LIVE TRACKING.

Historical is not a threat. You will have to drive around for 3 to 5 days, and then they will have to remove the device, and hook it up to a USB on a computer, and download all of the waypoints. This will tell them where you have been in "past tense" terms.

 

Live tracking requires a cellular Sim card, and a third party activation. The third party receives the GPS coordinates and places this info on to a website. This person has to go to a computer, and enter their user name, and a password, and they can see a map with the "blue dot" where you are located, or they can enter a starting date / time group to a ending date / time group to see where you have traveled. It will also show other info such as miles per hour, and other info based on the account entry level, or premium level.

 

The account will charge a basic fee for x amount of "pings" from your GPS tracker. They will need the large account to receive a ping every three minutes to give live tracking. The cheaper account may only allow you to receive a ping every two hours before you run out of pings, and then pay a premium for each one.

 

PI will have premium accounts, and they get discounts because they will own more then one device.

 

____________________________________________________________

 

To find the live tracker you will need to put the car in to a shipping container, and have it grounded. This will block all radio waves from the outside from getting inside the container.

 

You will set up three antennas and you will use a PC to track the freq, and do the radio direction finding.

 

In all honesty I find the devices under the car, or under the under the seat.

The under the seat is the wife / girlfriend / husband / boyfriend / friend / business partner / anyone who has a key.

 

___________________________________________________________

 

Most devices have to run on batteries. Most will run on 4 AA batteries. Depending on how many pings you have it set for is based on how long the batteries will last.

Most should last about 3 weeks before the batteries die.

 

If they tie the device in to the vehicle power then you have a different case all together.

 

You will actually use a device that allows you to enter an FCC list. This list has all of the fast food restaraunt drive through transmitter freqs, local radio stations, contractor radios that are used to dispatch plumbers ect, and all other licensed transmitters. This list goes in to your machine, and it eliminates all of these known freqs from the sweep only leaving "unkown" freqs for you to look at.

 

__________________________________________________________

 

I scope out the car in advance, and I buy the head rest at a junk yard, or from the dealer.

 

You insert the device in to the head rest, and open the car, and swap the head rest.

 

99% of the spy shops, and PI who think they do TSCM will not find it.

 

Do not forget that the car itself gives off RF, and you will get false positives.

 

If you are tying in to the vehicle power then most likely you are going to have alligator clips. One to the chassis, and the other to the starter to get straight to the battery. This is assuming no keys are involved, and this is a quick in, and out install.

 

If they have keys then they will install it in the trunk behind panels, or where there is a storage bin that they can open up.

 

They will use those kind of wire taps that you see at rental trailer ompanies where they tap in to your lights, and then the trailer has turn signals, and brake lights.

 

To hide devices under the carriage I will paint them with undercoating to make them black. Look for bumpers that are shaped like a J. In other words is there a well that you can drop the device in to so that you cannot see it? Use double stick tape to make it stay, or use zip strips.

 

Most PI's, and others will use the devices that snap in to a plastic case that has magnets.

 

If you are really looking for these devices then look for hollow places. Does your car have a cardboard glove compartment that can pull out?

 

SUVs, and Vans may have a center console that is hollow underneath, or under the center arm rest there may be a quick hollow spot to get to.

 

___________________________________________________________

 

There is no device the size of your fingernail that will track you. The receiving device cannot be that small, and have a battery, and a transmitter.

 

If there is such a device on your car then it will not last very long due to the power source, and you are not in a high threat situation for the long term, but you can be found in the short time, but this will be an assasination attempt in this case.

 

___________________________________________________________

 

Why are you the target?

Who is targeting you?

How much are they willing to spend?

Is this an amature situation, or a pro situation?

Do they have access to the vehicle?

____________________________________________________________

 

I use several devices to protect others.

A: Paintball landmines. Place this around non concrete areas. If they trip one off they will be painted in color. If they walk down the street then they will be marked when you, or LE (law enforcement) approach them.

 

If you have some serious cash to hire a lawyer then go ahead, and use pepper spray in the land mine. If you cannot afford a night in jail, and the legal fees to get off then do not use the pepper spray.

 

B: Very expensive game cameras, and not the cheapos found at Walmart, and gun shops, and hunting shops.

 

You will need IR flash so that you do not give off a flash, and it has to be a digital camera, and you need a built in LCD screen to see the pictures.

 

The 35mm versions require you to develop the film, and you will have to wait for your evidence.

 

Place several game cameras around in the trees. If someone comes up from wounds, or walking though non fenced housing area then you should catch them.

 

C: Place True Day / Night cameras on the vehicle to catch vehicles that stop in the street at night to get out, and place a device, or to perform maintentance on the batteries.

 

_________________________________________________________

 

Do you have one of the houses that has the "aluminum foil" in the attic? You can tell because you have to go outside to use your cellphone. Place your car in the garage, and shut the door. This will make it hard to get a GPS location, and / or prevent the cellular signal from getting out to give a location.

 

GPS wiki, and info links

http://scorpiontheater.com/gpslab.aspx

 

Here is how you disguise a game camera!

http://scorpiontheater.com/game.aspx

 

 

What do you think?

Edited October 14, 2009 by Guest

[ak357 0]

).

Live tracking requires a cellular Sim card, and a third party activation. The third party receives the GPS coordinates and places this info on to a website. This person has to go to a computer, and enter their user name, and a password, and they can see a map with the "blue dot" where you are located, or they can enter a starting date / time group to a ending date / time group to see where you have traveled. It will also show other info such as miles per hour, and other info based on the account entry level, or premium level.

 

The account will charge a basic fee for x amount of "pings" from your GPS tracker. They will need the large account to receive a ping every three minutes to give live tracking. The cheaper account may only allow you to receive a ping every two hours before you run out of pings, and then pay a premium for each one.

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Scorp, I get you live tracking gps every 10 min whole year

for about $170 Canadian plus unit cost

[scorpion 0]

$15.00 a month???

 

That is a great deal!

 

Do they do third party banner to make it look a business named website?

 

Do you have to buy their tracker, and do they have good tech support?

 

What is the URL?

[todd2 0]

Concern is with device as part of a tracker. I read the responses and understand it may be

difficult to find physically. That's why I was looking for a cell phone detector device--to

pick up the transmisions. I had an alarm shop look for it, but I got the feeling they only

ever dealt with dealer installed (non-criminally-installed) units, since they kept telling me it

would be under the dash hooked up to the ignition. As you say, if it's not hooked up to

the car wiring, it won't last more than a few weeks. Camera and alarm system will limit

the perps options to somewhere underneath the vehicle on his back.

 

Should I have a private investigator look at the vehicle rather than another alarm shop?

[rory 0]

u could try a wire toner .. that picks up some strange vibes .. try it on different electric devices to see what I mean. A fridge is a huge source ... but even a cell phone can be enough to get something. You need to look where you think this cell phone tx will work, I mean a vehicle is mostly metal so it needs to be somewhere it will get out around the metal and get a signal. You really need something that can find RF signals.

 

Other than that, I guess you could always just sell the car

 

Check with a radio business.

 

eg.

http://www.s-vip.com/eng/sm/rw_001.php

http://www.s-vip.com/eng/sm/rz_006.php

[ak357 0]

$15.00 a month???

 

That is a great deal!

 

Do they do third party banner to make it look a business named website?

 

No,live tracking by their website

 

Do you have to buy their tracker, and do they have good tech support?

 

Yes u have to get unit from them

I tried under hood no problem

About tech support never need it

unit just works fine

 

What is the URL?

 

will sent u PM

[scorpion 0]

Concern is with device as part of a tracker. I read the responses and understand it may be

difficult to find physically. That's why I was looking for a cell phone detector device--to

pick up the transmisions. I had an alarm shop look for it, but I got the feeling they only

ever dealt with dealer installed (non-criminally-installed) units, since they kept telling me it

would be under the dash hooked up to the ignition. As you say, if it's not hooked up to

the car wiring, it won't last more than a few weeks. Camera and alarm system will limit

the perps options to somewhere underneath the vehicle on his back.

 

Should I have a private investigator look at the vehicle rather than another alarm shop?

 

I would not have a PI look for it. He is not trained in TSCM. You will need someone trained in TSCM (Technical Services, and Counter Measures).

 

There are PI's that specialize in TSCM, but these are very few.

 

I would take the car to your dealership. A long term employee can look at the car in under an hour. He will find anything that is out of the ordinary.

 

I am willing to bet that if you are electronically oriented that you can find it if you look.

 

I am willng to bet that you do not have anything. If the alarm shop did not find it then you should be clear.

 

If you think you still have a device then you are pushed up in to a higher threat situation, and you will have to spend good money on real TSCM Professionals!

 

http://www.tscm.com/ Tell them Scopion Theater sent you.

Do not call them if you are not seeking true professional help. These guys go after the CIA type spies, and real corporate theft spies.

[thewireguys 3]

What about if you disconnected the car battery then did the sweep? If the device is running on battery would it be easier to pick up with without the car giving off RF?

[scorpion 0]

If it takes three pings to locate the device, and the device is set to ping once an hour then I would say that you need to pack a lunch!

 

Do not let anyone with a cellphone to "hang out and watch". You would be suprised at how many "PI bugfinders" search vehicles with their cell phone on, and the customer is standing there with his cell phone, and anyone else that is "hanging out".

 

This just cracks me up!

[voltman64 0]

Hers what I would do,contact a company who installs wireless communications. Ask them if they could use their spectrum analyzer to see the phone transmitting in what ever frequencies cell phones use. Maybe you have to leave the car for a day but you would know for sure if something is transmitting or not.

 

Just a thought.