Blog/Can a Landline Phone Be Hacked?

Can a Landline Phone Be Hacked?

Privacy is becoming a significant issue today. No one wants sensitive or private information to get into the wrong hands. The increase in smartphones, digital devices, and IoT has increased people's vulnerability to hacking, breaches, and scams.

With over 100 million Americans placing their trust in landlines for their security, the question most people ask is: Can a landline phone be hacked?

If you have a landline and are worried about being vulnerable to wiretapping and misuse of your information, you can learn how to secure your landline phone in this guide. However, the best option to protect yourself and your loved ones is to switch to Community Phone, one of the best landline service providers in the US, as it is invulnerable to hacks and wiretapping. Read on to learn more!

Can a Landline Phone Be Hacked?

Studies show that hackers can easily breach most internet-based phone calls. Internet-based phones use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to enable calls and text. Calls, SMS, or any data transmitted via an internet-based phone is bundled into packets and sent over the internet. Since the internet is an open circuit, hackers can hack into the circuit and easily manipulate the data they can access.

Landlines use a closed dedicated circuit to transmit the voice data from the caller to the recipient, making it very challenging for hackers or miscreants to wiretap your conversation. This closed-circuit is a sharp contrast to what is obtainable in internet-based phones.

Switch to Community Phone, the best wireless landline service in the US, that does not need the internet or copper wires to operate. This non-dependency on the internet and copper wires makes their service secure and invulnerable to hacks and breaches or wiretapping.

What is Wiretapping?

Wiretapping is accessing private conversations over a phone line using a remote connection legally or illegally. Usually, it is done legally during criminal investigations when authorities need to monitor the conversation.

Legal authorities can wiretap conversations only after they follow due protocol, and there is a chance that they can apprehend the criminal by intercepting conversations over a telephone line.

Officers are strictly instructed by law to reduce the number of conversation interceptions if those conversations aren't material for investigation. Pieces of evidence obtained through wiretapping are strictly regulated under federal and state laws; hence anyone guilty of illegal wiretapping has committed a federal crime.

Do Hackers Use landlines?

Hackers don't need advanced technical knowledge or sophisticated gadgets to intercept conversations. They use spyware initially designed for security researchers and auditors.

Since spyware is everywhere and easy to work with when installed, the hacker can easily monitor the activities on your DECT-cordless landline phone. This Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard was supposed to be a safe system until hackers could decrypt the implementation by phone manufacturers.

There are also wireless network cards or software radios, which come in handy for hackers to hijack conversations that take place in some models of DECT-cordless phones.

How Do Landlines Safeguard Against Hackers?

Landline phones are far safer than internet-based phones in keeping you secure, but copper wire landlines and cordless phones are vulnerable to wiretapping.

Upgrading an analog cordless phone to a digital one is one way to keep your conversations from being wiretapped.

However, phone scams being on the rise year after year, and Americans losing an average of $350 per person in 2021 makes this threat real. While you can change phones to prevent wiretapping, there is no stopping scammers who call people posing to be legitimate employees from an insurance company or an NGO.

Robocalls add to the mix by calling people and trying to stealthily get their personal information to be misused by frauds later.

Community Phone is a one-stop solution to your wiretapping and unwanted call woes. Since Community Phone is a wireless landline service, there can be no wiretapping, and their robocall blocker can block millions of spam calls, protecting you from scams and fraudsters.

How Does the Community Phone Robocall Blocker Work?

Here's how the Community Phone spam call-blocking service protects you from scams:

1. The moment you receive a call through your Community Phone number, your phone won't ring, but the caller will hear a recording asking them to press 1 to connect.

2. If it is a robocall, it cannot execute the command.

3. Your robocall blocker detects the call as unwanted, disconnects it, and blocks the call before it rings.

Image of Community Phone spam call blocker

Optional Whitelisting Services

The optional safe listing service benefits seniors, people with dementia, and other ailments. Here's how it works:

1. Contact Community Phone customer care at 866-271-5129and request safe-listing or whitelisting services.

2. Give the rep the numbers you want to allow incoming calls from

3. Community Phone will safe-list or whitelist these numbers in the backend.

4. Calls from the safe listed numbers will reach your phone and alert you with a ring. Other calls will be blocked and disconnected automatically.

Benefits of Switching to Community Phone

Internet access is unnecessary: The Community Phone landline base connects your home phone to cell towers in your area, eliminating the need for an internet or copper wire connection.

Secure Connection: Phones that require copper wires can be wiretapped. This makes the wireless Community Phone landline service your best bet to protect yourself and your family from hacks and unwanted third-party access.

Easy installation: Setting up the Community Phone landline base is not complicated. You can set up the landline base in 2 simple steps**:**

1. Connect the landline base to the power source.

2. Plug a phone into the phone jack on our landline base, and you are good to go once you power the device on and all lights turn green.

Unlimited calls and texts: Enjoy unlimited nationwide calls and texts without the fear of massive phone bills.

No contracts or hidden charges: Community Phone boasts of transparency. The company does not levy expensive equipment charges, bind you in contracts, or add additional charges for services you didn't sign up for.

FAQs

What happens when you dial *#62#?

When you dial *#62#, you can check if someone has tapped your phone. Once you dial this number, calls, data SMS, and more are listed out, and ideally, each one should show "Not forwarded," and if any category shows "Forwarded," your phone has been hacked.

What are the signs that your phone is tapped?

Here are some signs that may indicate your phone is being tapped:

1. Overheating batteries can be a good indicator; however, watching many videos and listening to many podcasts can cause hot batteries too.

2. Unfamiliar and unwanted ads popping at you when you use your phone

3. Slower phone performance should raise your suspicion because malware that gains access to your phone can add to the bulk of activities your phone can bear, leading to a phone lag.

Can phones be hacked through a phone call?

No. Phones cannot be hacked through a call, but you should still be wary of scammers.

While wireless landline services like Community Phone cannot be hacked or wiretapped, you can protect yourself from scammers with their powerful spam call-blocking feature.

Call Community Phone at 866-271-5129 to talk to a customer care rep and learn more!

Are landline phones secure?

Yes, landline phones, especially wireless landline phone services like Community Phone, are very secure.

Landline phones transfer data from the caller to the recipient using closed-circuit switching. This method is safe because, during the data transfer, which could be a voice, SMS, or even fax, a dedicated path is created and remains closed till you hang up the call.

Conclusion

Evolving technology endangering people's security is a significant concern today. While staying abreast with technological advancements is good, going analog may sometimes be better.

Get the Community Phone wireless landline service, which offers the safety and security of traditional landlines, features like internet-based phones, and wireless access, making it invulnerable to tapping, hacks, and breaches.

Talk to Community Phone's landline specialists TODAY!

Upgrade your landline service today
Check your address for coverage