Dear Abby

jasonv43
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What's the safest way to track text messages on somebody else's phone?

A friend wants to know.
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newmann
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9/27/2016 11:54am
The lady working our front desk was able to view all her husbands texts on their phone plan. Didn't end well. Tell your friend to be careful what you ask for...lol
IWreckALot
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9/27/2016 12:10pm
You can order a detailed breakdown from the phone company if you're the master on the account I believe. Can't remember who I heard that from. Maybe one of my cousins or something that went through a rough patch in their marriage.
jasonv43
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9/27/2016 12:14pm
newmann wrote:
The lady working our front desk was able to view all her husbands texts on their phone plan. Didn't end well. Tell your friend to be...
The lady working our front desk was able to view all her husbands texts on their phone plan. Didn't end well. Tell your friend to be careful what you ask for...lol
I believe he checked that out and was not able to see the actual content, only numbers and date/time. And yes it's a deep dark hole that I don't know if he wants to go down.
jasonv43
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9/27/2016 12:15pm
IWreckALot wrote:
You can order a detailed breakdown from the phone company if you're the master on the account I believe. Can't remember who I heard that from...
You can order a detailed breakdown from the phone company if you're the master on the account I believe. Can't remember who I heard that from. Maybe one of my cousins or something that went through a rough patch in their marriage.
Interesting.

The Shop

colintrax
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9/27/2016 1:38pm
Grab the phone and take a look?
colintrax
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9/27/2016 1:39pm Edited Date/Time 9/27/2016 1:39pm
Honestly your friend should ask some female friends, girls are good at this sneaky stuff.
mxb2
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9/27/2016 1:41pm
If you have to check phones, end the relationship. Insecure, and high school.stuff. Old saying goes be careful what you ask for. And some cases it's against the law. Why bother,move along.
jasonv43
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9/27/2016 2:18pm
mxb2 wrote:
If you have to check phones, end the relationship. Insecure, and high school.stuff. Old saying goes be careful what you ask for. And some cases it's...
If you have to check phones, end the relationship. Insecure, and high school.stuff. Old saying goes be careful what you ask for. And some cases it's against the law. Why bother,move along.
Agreed. However I think there is some curiosity which can kill the cat. Plus I think there is a hope that nothing is what it seems.
kzizok
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9/27/2016 6:23pm
You can selectivity delete texts you know....
But they don't really go away. The phone company keeps them (not sure about how long) for billing and activity purposes.
Jimmy_Sloan
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9/27/2016 6:26pm Edited Date/Time 9/27/2016 6:36pm
Install tracking software
MxKing809
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9/27/2016 6:55pm Edited Date/Time 9/27/2016 7:04pm
My wife has her ipad setup to sync imessages..... if I wanted to, I could just open her ipad and see every text she got and sent from her phone.

Odds are though that an alleged trifling hoe would know that and cover her tracks..... I would push the carrier. May need a lawyer to send a subpoena or some shit to get them to publish the messages.

Don't open that hatch until the person looking for that info is OK with the worst possible outcome....
ToolMaker
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9/27/2016 7:24pm
Do you know a policeman that would do it for you? They have that software that they can get EVERYTHING. Even deleted stuff.
mxb2
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9/27/2016 7:41pm
ToolMaker wrote:
Do you know a policeman that would do it for you? They have that software that they can get EVERYTHING. Even deleted stuff.
Not without a warrant or risk of getting fired. Lol..
agn5009
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9/27/2016 7:41pm Edited Date/Time 9/27/2016 7:43pm
ToolMaker wrote:
Do you know a policeman that would do it for you? They have that software that they can get EVERYTHING. Even deleted stuff.
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is.


I'll edit this, because maybe some larger first class cities can do it. But most have to get a search warrant, court order, subpoena to obtain this info. Or send it to a crime lab and have it dumped. Its not as easy as plugging the phone into the computer and getting all deleted info. This ain't CSI. This is real life.
mxb2
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9/27/2016 7:42pm
ToolMaker wrote:
Do you know a policeman that would do it for you? They have that software that they can get EVERYTHING. Even deleted stuff.
agn5009 wrote:
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is. I'll edit...
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is.


I'll edit this, because maybe some larger first class cities can do it. But most have to get a search warrant, court order, subpoena to obtain this info. Or send it to a crime lab and have it dumped. Its not as easy as plugging the phone into the computer and getting all deleted info. This ain't CSI. This is real life.
X2,. Phone records for court.
ToolMaker
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9/27/2016 7:49pm
ToolMaker wrote:
Do you know a policeman that would do it for you? They have that software that they can get EVERYTHING. Even deleted stuff.
agn5009 wrote:
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is. I'll edit...
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is.


I'll edit this, because maybe some larger first class cities can do it. But most have to get a search warrant, court order, subpoena to obtain this info. Or send it to a crime lab and have it dumped. Its not as easy as plugging the phone into the computer and getting all deleted info. This ain't CSI. This is real life.
mxracer816
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9/28/2016 6:18am
Does this "alleged female" go by the initials HRC? Sounds awful familiar to another scenario!!!
huck
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9/28/2016 7:24am
Most providers don't keep the actual messages....

Imagine how much data there is if all the companies kept everybody's texts.


"Verizon is the only one of the top four carriers that retains text message content, however, and it keeps that for three to five days."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393887,00.asp
agn5009
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9/28/2016 7:25am
ToolMaker wrote:
Do you know a policeman that would do it for you? They have that software that they can get EVERYTHING. Even deleted stuff.
agn5009 wrote:
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is. I'll edit...
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is.


I'll edit this, because maybe some larger first class cities can do it. But most have to get a search warrant, court order, subpoena to obtain this info. Or send it to a crime lab and have it dumped. Its not as easy as plugging the phone into the computer and getting all deleted info. This ain't CSI. This is real life.
ToolMaker wrote:
Like the article says, FORENSICS teams can do this, not police officers. Police officer obtains a search warrant, police officer obtains phone, police officer sends the device off to the forensics lab (or in larger cities that have their own forensics lab they give the cell phone to forensics) then forensic tech "dumps" the phone.

You can't hand a cell phone to a police officer and expect him to be able to get all info off of it.
jasonv43
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9/28/2016 7:34am
Install tracking software
Won't that get noticed somehow? How does that stuff work? And is that even legal?

He wants to know.
ToolMaker
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9/28/2016 7:37am
agn5009 wrote:
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is. I'll edit...
No they don't. They would get a subpoena or court order from a judge and serve it on Verizon/at&t or whoever the carrier is.


I'll edit this, because maybe some larger first class cities can do it. But most have to get a search warrant, court order, subpoena to obtain this info. Or send it to a crime lab and have it dumped. Its not as easy as plugging the phone into the computer and getting all deleted info. This ain't CSI. This is real life.
ToolMaker wrote:
agn5009 wrote:
Like the article says, FORENSICS teams can do this, not police officers. Police officer obtains a search warrant, police officer obtains phone, police officer sends the...
Like the article says, FORENSICS teams can do this, not police officers. Police officer obtains a search warrant, police officer obtains phone, police officer sends the device off to the forensics lab (or in larger cities that have their own forensics lab they give the cell phone to forensics) then forensic tech "dumps" the phone.

You can't hand a cell phone to a police officer and expect him to be able to get all info off of it.
While you may have noticed the article is quite old, I put the link to show the tech is there. I have also read more recent articles that individual police have this in the car so they can access the info immediately. I believe I also read that information obtained by this process without a warrant was admissible in court. The argument from the police is that if the phone is in the car and they can search the car they can search the phone (very rudimentary explanation).
TM
jasonv43
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9/28/2016 7:37am
mxracer816 wrote:
Does this "alleged female" go by the initials HRC? Sounds awful familiar to another scenario!!!
Haha. No not that I know of.
ToolMaker
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9/28/2016 7:45am
"The phone search and seizure described in the documented case required a warrant. But the legality of warrantless phone searches remains an open issue. At U.S. borders or when arresting a suspect, for instance, police and government officials have argued that no such warrant is required."

Paragraph from a more recent Forbes article.
TM
mxb2
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9/28/2016 9:11am
Install tracking software
jasonv43 wrote:
Won't that get noticed somehow? How does that stuff work? And is that even legal?

He wants to know.
Posting your intentions on vital ,probably not the smartest thing to do. Courts will have a field day. And if it's a so called friend,why get in the middle of the drama.
jasonv43
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9/28/2016 10:33am
Install tracking software
jasonv43 wrote:
Won't that get noticed somehow? How does that stuff work? And is that even legal?

He wants to know.
mxb2 wrote:
Posting your intentions on vital ,probably not the smartest thing to do. Courts will have a field day. And if it's a so called friend,why get...
Posting your intentions on vital ,probably not the smartest thing to do. Courts will have a field day. And if it's a so called friend,why get in the middle of the drama.
All valid points.
Jimmy_Sloan
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9/28/2016 10:38am
Install tracking software
jasonv43 wrote:
Won't that get noticed somehow? How does that stuff work? And is that even legal?

He wants to know.
It is not legal, but for the most part it is undetected. But it logs calls, keystrokes, voicemails, pictures, etc. You can have it all sent to you through email.
IWreckALot
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9/28/2016 10:45am Edited Date/Time 9/28/2016 10:50am
huck wrote:
Most providers don't keep the actual messages.... Imagine how much data there is if all the companies kept everybody's texts. "Verizon is the only one of...
Most providers don't keep the actual messages....

Imagine how much data there is if all the companies kept everybody's texts.


"Verizon is the only one of the top four carriers that retains text message content, however, and it keeps that for three to five days."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393887,00.asp
I'm really drawing a blank on who was telling me about this, but they said you can call the carrier and ask for them to give you a detailed breakdown. They don't voluntarily keep record of texts, but they can if you ask. I may be wrong. I'm remembering something several years ago.

If you're the head of the account, I highly doubt there is anything illegal about asking for details of your own account. Now if it's her account, then the waters get muddy. All the phone record is doing is giving confirmation one way or the other. How you decide to confront the woman is the other half of the equation. You don't even have to tell her that you got her phone records. Just simply that you KNOW what's going on. In fact, I would never reveal how I confirmed the malfeasance. I'd just let curiosity get the best of her for the rest of eternity.

Edit: I just remembered. It was my aunt and uncle when they were going through their divorce. He got confirmations of her texts. Damn that was going to eat me alive if I couldn't remember. LOl.
MxKing809
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9/28/2016 10:46am
Buy 2 of these....

http://pocketfinder.com/gpspettracker/

Put them in the spare tire compartment of both of your friends and the "person" of interests car as anti-theft on both vehicles. Boom. No cell phone tampering, no way to detect it unless that person checks their car over with a fine tooth comb, and can be played off as anti-theft if you buy 2 and have them both setup.

This might not be the best product, but is an example of what's out there.
IWreckALot
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9/28/2016 10:47am
Install tracking software
jasonv43 wrote:
Won't that get noticed somehow? How does that stuff work? And is that even legal?

He wants to know.
It is not legal, but for the most part it is undetected. But it logs calls, keystrokes, voicemails, pictures, etc. You can have it all sent...
It is not legal, but for the most part it is undetected. But it logs calls, keystrokes, voicemails, pictures, etc. You can have it all sent to you through email.
That requires that you get your hands on her phone though right? Usually cheaters are very clingy with their phones. Hell, I'm clingy with my phone and I have no interest in anyone other than my wife and Maria Sharapova. And my wife is cool with Maria.

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