How to stop your phone being hacked – and why it was easy to do in the noughties

PhoneHacking_CarouselLge_Apr28.jpgDid you know that you can access the voicemail of your mobile from another phone? Well after the revelations about phone hacking over the last few months most people do now. But for many people it came as a shock to find out that accessing phone messages in this way was possible at all.

However anyone who travels a lot on business will probably know all about remote voicemail. They are most likely to use it when traveling outside the UK to retrieve their messages. Basically the standard voicemail numbers (901 etc) don’t tend to work outside the UK, so users need to ring a longer number and then input a code. I remember doing this countless times seven or eight years ago.

Back in the early noughties, when phone hacking was at its height, it was very easy to access other people’s voicemails. This was because simple to guess default pins (0000) tended to be offered by the networks and human nature being what it is meant that many people didn’t change those pins. I certainly didn’t. Today it is a bit trickier to hack a phone and it is nigh on impossible if you follow these instructions.

1 Make sure you have a dedicated pin number for voicemail – Over the last few years mobile networks have got a bit more savvy about this and some have insisted people create their own pin numbers – this inevitably makes voicemail more secure. If you have a default number contact your network provider and change it. In fact if you are really concerned about it change the number on a regular basis.

2 Make sure you keep your personal details private – Putting your address, phone etc on the Internet gives hackers a chance to find out more about you. If they start finding out details like your mother’s maiden, where you were born, favourite football team, name of your dog etc then they could in theory hackers could have enough information about you to start convincing networks that they are you and can hear your messages.

3 Don’t take it for granted that no one will want to hear your messages. You might not be a soap star, politician, footballer or crime victim, but there maybe someone lurking in your past who would love to find out more about your messages.

Ultimately though hacking voicemails is much rarer these days. Real hackers are almost certainly more interested in your email.

Ashley Norris

3 comments

  • We should protest to shutdown Spybubble.It is a company that helps parents or other companies to hack their kids or employees phones.And they even say “Want to find out if your girlfriend is cheating?”They are invading people's privacy in their own home and allowing people that pay them to access messages,voicemail, or even track their current positions through google maps.That means that if someone wanted to stalk you they could.I didn't believe my parents when they kept telling me they we're being hacked but when they went from a pre-pay store phone to a new phone with a monthly contract that he got a discount through work it still shows the signs of hacking.Theirs is the only number we ever call that beeps when I call them and did that with the old phone that they used from the store as well.This can't just be a coincidence.These companies need to be brought down and I wish someone would please help.Too many people use this for bad and my parents feel like they are being stalked all the time now because people from his work and other places are talking about stuff that we have talked about and I have witnessed it first hand.My stepdad was telling me about his tomato plants and said his boss might like some and then whispered “Now watch this..”Not a couple of minutes later his boss calls asking if he had any extra plants to get rid of that he didn't want.This kind of shit should not be allowed.Someone please help bring these bastards down.

  • Thanks for providing this article,Thank you for sharing the information.I like it very much.it is very useful for me.

  • Thanks for the instructions to change my default code on my Voicemail to secure pin code ! It was so easy with no problem,took about 20 seconds ! .

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