Anyone with the right type of equipment can monitor cell-phone conversations.
According to the Texas A&M Research Foundation, cell phones, which transmit radio signals that disperse in multiple directions, use frequencies that can be monitored by persons in possession of easily obtainable equipment. Still, some cellular technologies are more secure than others.
Analog Systems
Analog cell phones, which incorporate the Advanced Mobile Phone System, or AMPS, transmit conversations over analog signals without the security of scrambling or encryption. Eavesdropping individuals can easily access conversations with the assistance of common radio scanners.
Digital Systems
Digital cell phones transmit encrypted or scrambled messages that are not decipherable by ordinary radio scanners. However, governmental and law-enforcement agencies have equipment capable of monitoring digital communications, and individuals can decipher digital-phone communications with digital-data interpreters, which connect radio scanners to personal computers.
Dual-Mode Phones
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer organization, suggests that some cellular models employ dual or tri-mode technologies, which allow the phone to use less secure analog transmissions when digital services are not available.
Considerations
To achieve greater security, the consumer group recommends using cell phones and carriers that incorporate digital and encryption technologies, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA).
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