How to check if someone is spying on our smartphone

Spyware, fake apps or fake malware, there are several ways through which cyber criminals can spy on our smartphones, here's how to defend ourselves

Every user's biggest nightmare for their own cybersecurity is to be spied on by a malicious person or hacker on their smartphone. Nowadays, we store all kinds of personal information on our phones, so it is important to understand if someone is spying on us or if our privacy is safe.

Spying on a user through a malware installed on the smartphone may seem like a complex operation, but in reality there are many ways to bypass the security of a mobile device and start snooping through another person's personal data. Hackers, to give an example, can create fake apps that send all the most confidential information to hackers. Or they can create viruses designed specifically for Internet sites that allow the hacker to control a particular person's online browsing. And finally, malicious hackers, jealous partners, or pushy office managers could physically install spyware on your phone, malware that spies on your calls, photos, messages, apps, and so on.

Smartphone spying viruses, how to defend yourself

Smartphones are now becoming the real target of hackers, even more so than computers, because most people use these devices to make payments, exchange confidential conversations, or simply to send personal photos to friends and family. This is very important data for cyber criminals, who could use it to blackmail or scam a user or, more simply, to get hold of their email, social or online bank account profiles. To avoid leaving our privacy in the hands of this kind of malicious we can simply type some codes on our smartphone to understand if someone is hijacking and then spying on our conversations.

To understand if someone is hijacking on another device the incoming SMS and calls on our smartphone we have to type the code *#21#. Once we type the code and press Call we will receive a pop-up message where we are provided with the information of any active detour. For example, if our jealous partner has redirected calls to his own phone as well, we will see his mobile number.

To figure out if someone is diverting all the calls on our smartphone we have to instead type the code *#62#. Again, after pressing on Call, we will receive a message with the possible information of mobile numbers on which our calls are being diverted. Once we find out the phone number we can also go to the Police and report the fact. The authorities, thanks to the data provided by us, will be able to trace the attacker.

Finally, it is important to remember that if we notice that call detour are active on our smartphone, it is important to disable them immediately. How? Simple, just type another code, specifically ##02#. Once we press on Call we will be notified that all active detour on our phone have been eliminated and we will return to having complete control over our privacy.