Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Martian
An amateur wouldn't bug a telephone, because modern telephone are difficult to bug. Old-style pones (with removable mouthpieces) can be, but most modern phones are one-piece moulded plastic.
|
Why bug a handset when you can install a tap on at the box outside?
Quote:
|
Hidden cameras are possible, but are difficult to hide effectively in someone else's home; for example, you'd notice if someone replaced your clock radio, or a smoke detector appeared in your bedroom one day. While it's possible that the camera was in place before you moved in, it's not very likely and there's multiple technical hurdles that would need to be dealt with.
|
Decent hidden cameras that are very hard to spot only run a few hundred dollars, and can be hidden behind any vent, in any light fixture, even in wall outlets.
There are plenty of things out there to help you find wireless devices, so I won't cover that. To detect wired surveillance devices, an inductive amplifier can be used.
http://www.howtowireahouse.com/Greenlee_08671.html
If you're worried enough to get and use one, learn what sounds different cables make by putting it near a light switch, a wall outlet, the yellow composite video cable from anything you plug into your TV, and the cord going to your computer monitor. The light switch and wall outlet will produce a 60hz hum (50hz if you're in most of the world outside of the US.) The computer cable will produce a distinctive hum with pulsed clicking as the sync burst is sent, and the the composite video cable will produce a similar but distinctly identifiable sound. Analog audio signals will sound exactly like what the microphone is picking up, and battery-powered devices will most likely only produce a detectable video signal (it's not plugged in but the signal has to go somewhere.)
After you get an idea of what each type of signal sounds like, turn lights off, use a window for light, and unplug anything that might produce an erroneous signal. Start by moving the tip of the amplifier wand in circles around suspicious fixtures and vents, varying the angle of the wand to the device and the surface it's mounted on. If you pick up a suspicious signal, move outward in circles from that point, and see if you can find the signature of a wire behind the ceiling or wall. If it acts like a surveillance device (in my time, I've never found an A/C duct that carried a video sync signal) and you can remove it or take it apart, you can guess the next step.
If you're not sure whether something is a genuine find or not, see if someone else's apartment has an identical fixture and check for differences. If you're really paranoid, you can go across walls and ceilings in a 3" grid pattern, to check for cables, but you're more likely to find a cable TV run or your neighbor's phone line if it's an apartment building. If you're really not sure, take a cell video of you testing the suspect area, even if it's a cell phone cam video,) and PM me, I'll take a look at it and help you as much as I can over the Internet.