If any of our members of the community have Sprint or T-Mobile and you have auto voicemail login enabled, you are vulnerable to a simple hack to access your voicemail. I have auto voicemail login enabled because I hate entering my voicemail PIN number each time I want to check my messages.

The voicemail authentication system is simple. It uses caller ID to validate the originating number – if the caller ID matches your cell phone number (ie. your cell phone calling in to check your voicemail messages), it will log you in automatically.

Since the announcement of commercial caller ID spoofing systems such as CovertCall and another called TeleSpoof. For those not in-the-know, caller ID spoofing allows you to change your caller ID number to anything you like. This is extremely vulnerable and make sure you turn off auto login enabled. This is probably how they hacked into Paris Hilton's voicemail.

What is CoverCall?

Covert Call allows you to alter the caller id that is sent to the phone you are calling. It can operate just like a calling card, all for the price of a normal long distance call.

here's a scenario: Out of the office and need to contact a business associate, but don't want to reveal your private cell phone number?... Covert Call will display your business number on their caller id. No one will ever know where you are really calling from!

Manipulate the caller id, that is sent from your phone. Appear to be anyone, anywhere. This service is compatible with nearly all phones, cell phones, and even the new VoIP phones!

What is TeleSpoof?

Telespoof is offering the first domestic and international Caller I.D. spoofing service, allowing business professionals to remain anonymous when calling from anywhere in the world, to anywhere in the world. Telespoof allows you to be whoever you want to be.

Our service is for business professionals within the U.S. including, but not limited to; Private Investigators, Skip Tracers, Law Enforcement, Debt Collection Agencies, Insurance Agencies and Lawyers, allowing the freedom to choose any number to show up on the Caller I.D. display.

Telespoof operates on toll free numbers within the U.S. giving clients access from wherever they may be. No need to be in the office or at a computer to use the service. Telespoof also allows clients to place international calls with spoofed Caller I.D. permitting the technology is available within the destination country.

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The only reason for the staff at Dave's iPAQ posting this is to protect the members of our community. We do not support any of these types of actions at all!

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As A PI, If I am looking for someone that is using a throw away phone. The company that the airtime is on knows where that phone was sent and sold by. They most all have cams and can trace when and by who that phone was sold and can (most of the time) review the tape of the sale and there you go, I now have the picture of the person.

Posted by , Monday, Feb. 18th, 2008

"And if I purchase a throw away cell with 100minutes how are you going to track it back? That's basically how hackers do it.
Posted by David Ciccone, Wednesday, Feb. 23rd, 2005"

Thats how hackers do what? Make untraceable phone calls?

If you're asking how authorities locate a person who is using prepaid cell phones to commit crimes, I have no idea. I'm not a cop, David.

I do know that every new cell phone is equipped with a GPS transceiver and that it can potentially be used to locate a phone. I'm willing to speculate that law enforcement agencies take advantage of that when necessary.

Posted by PI Phone, Thursday, Mar. 17th, 2005

And if I purchase a throw away cell with 100minutes how are you going to track it back? That's basically how hackers do it.

Posted by David Ciccone, Wednesday, Feb. 23rd, 2005

The easy way to secure your voicemail from spoofed caller ID is to set it up to require you to enter your password every time.

David chose to copy and paste the ad copy directly from CovertCall and Telespoof's respective web sites. It should be noted that, even with spoofed caller ID, there is a record of the source and destination of every phone call that is placed on the US telephone network. There is no such thing as untracable phone calls.

Additionally, Telespoof was not the first company to market with caller ID spoofing.

Posted by PI Phone, Wednesday, Feb. 23rd, 2005

I used to have a Sanyo (5000?) cell phone years ago that allowed me to screen calls. When the phone rings, you would hit a side button that activated a local digital voice mail like introduction recording. It would appear to be a normal voice mail greating. (ot what ever you recorded) You could then interrupt to say hi after confirming it was actually someoen you want to talk to. (assuming they know to say something early, or while they are leaving a message) That's the only way I can think of to get around some of the potential headache. I havnt seen a phone with this feature though since then.

Posted by s4czech, Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, 2005

Everyone please note this is a very easy way to access voicemails. Paris Hilton's entire Tmobile voice mailbox is all over the internet. This could possibly be the way they got in.

Posted by David Ciccone, Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, 2005