IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [phone]

A telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are not in the same vicinity of each other to be heard directly.

A telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are not in the same vicinity of each other to be heard directly.

First patented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell and further developed by many others, the telephone was the first device in history that enabled people to talk directly with each other across large distances. Telephones became rapidly indispensable to businesses, government, and households, and are today some of the most widely used small appliances.

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Does hanging up on a UK landline call not terminate the connection?

AgeUK (and others) warn about making phone calls directly after receiving a scam call and advise you to "wait for the line to clear": Use a different phone if you can, or wait 5 to 10 minutes after the cold call if using the same phone - just in…
Matt Zeunert
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Charging someone else's cell phone in my car

A sketchy looking person walked up to my car the other day while I was parking and asked if he could charge his cell phone in my car and offered to pay me $5. I didn't allow him to charge his phone in my car of course, but it made me wonder if there…
courtney
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Phone calls that listen to you saying hello and then say "goodbye"

I live in France. About 5-10 times, once every 1-2 months, I receive an automated computerized call that listens to me say "hello" there is silence for 5 seconds, and then there is a voice recording of a British woman saying "good-bye". If it isn't…
bandybabboon
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How should I safely display my phone number on my website?

If I display my email address on my website, I would probably receive a lot of spam, so I can set up a contact form instead. If I want to display my phone number, how can I prevent unwanted phone calls?
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How safe are data you dial to a call center?

Sometimes when you call an administrative service it tells you "Dial 1 to access such service. Dial 2 to access some other service. Otherwise, dial 3." No harm if somebody comes to learn I chose "2". However I recently switched to a new bank. When I…
Antoine Pinsard
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Random people are coming to my home looking for their lost/stolen cellphones!

Random people are coming to my home saying their lost/stolen cellphone is at my house! The latest person to show up on my door step was at 9pm last night. He said that his "findmyiphone" sent him to my home. This has happened 2 times before and some…
Leah
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How can I protect my phone voicemail from being hacked?

With the News of The World Phone Hacking scandal spreading globally amidst allegations that as well as celebrities, victims of September 11 and other major events in the news have had their phone voicemails hacked into. With this in mind, many…
Rory Alsop
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Why do phones have SIM cards?

I presume that the main reason phone operators require a SIM card to get access to the network is due to security and/or authentication purposes. Just wondering why this is? What does a SIM card do that a phone can't? I imagine a SIM card is just…
stickman
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What are the security benefits of calling and asking to input pin from the website?

On Amazon AWS as part of the registration process you need to provide your telephone number. Then, after pressing Call me now button a PIN number displays on the same site and you get a phone call where you're asked to input that PIN on your…
Maurycy
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Sensitive data and phone calls

How safe is it to give sensitive information to someone over a phone line? Does it matter if the data was verbally spoken or if it was typed in? Example: Opening an account with an internet provider and they ask for your SSN and/or credit card…
Thomas Eding
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How are "fake cell towers" detected

With the recent (and not so recent) news about fake cell towers popping up in different part of the world, I was wondering how these are detected (from a technical point of view). I'm not really looking for information about how an end user could…
Stephane
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How advisable is to give my phone number as part of dating/ casually socializing?

TLDR: What are the risks, consequences, of giving my phone number to civilian people I meet while socializing/dating or in casual life? If a bad actor gets my phone number, what attacks to expect, and how can protect myself from their…
Santropedro
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What's the worst someone could do with my phone unlock code?

When someone is using my cell phone, I will sometimes give them the PIN number to unlock it so they don't have to ask me. Clearly, I only tell the code to people I trust not to mess up my phone. However, let's say an attacker overhears me telling…
KnightOfNi
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Intercepting business calls and forwarding them back to me

My sister recently went on a sales call and when she told them what company she worked for they were upset. They told her that the company she works for is stealing their customers by intercepting and forwarding their phone calls. Sure enough…
user34860
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How can Huawei (or any other telecom vendor) provide verifiable security assurance?

IMHO, It is in Huawei's (and all other equipment manufacturer's) best interest to preclude \ prevent any party from remotely breaching security. All government actors monitor communications by compelling ISP & Telco's via force. How can equipment…
gatorback
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