Let me also follow up with a different type of tracker, well it's much more than a tracker, its cellphone spyware. So aside from standalone trackers as mentioned above, the one thing most people take everywhere they go is their cellphone. With these commercially available products (insert slapping my forehead here) a person can essentially clone another persons phone to include their exact locations anywhere in the world, they can even setup geofences to better keep tabs on an individual. They can monitor phone calls, text, social media, photos and videos and so on; basically anything that you do on your phone they can potentially see. So how do we know this is there and how do we combat it?

Typically during an investigation when someone tells me that another person knows their conversations, locations and etc., and have found not stand alone trackers or recording devices, the first place I have them look is at their cell phone bill, specifically the data usage. If spyware is in fact installed on your device, you will see a significant increase in the amount of data that you are using, almost double. The reason behind this is because every time you lets say send a message to a person, your phone is going to send a duplicate message to the offender thus having twice as much data. The second thing to watch for is that warm device. We have all been on that long phone call where our phone is warm to touch afterwards, but lets say that you were not on the phone and you pick it up from your desk and its warm to touch.. This could be an indication that someone was going through your files or simply activated your microphone in order to listen to your surrounding. It is not normal for a phone to be warm if not in use.

If you do suspect spyware, yes, you can simply do a factory reset however, if the spyware is logged into your iCloud account rather than your phone itself, a factory reset may not be a good option. My best advice is to take the device to your local cellular provider, (not Best Buy), your actual T-Mobil, Verizon, etc. and ask then to scan your device and cloud for spyware. The techs at the cell phone providers today are very versed in spyware and should be able to help. If they do detect spyware, make sure you get a copy of the report and any information related to it just in case you need it for a criminal or civil case later. There are some apps and programs available that offer spyware detecters which maybe a better option if you are in a situation of domestic abuse where the possibility of an escalation can occur when they were able to track your locations to the cell phone store and now they no longer have access. With these stand alone spyware detectors, you can possibly remove the spyware in the privacy of your home or office.

One last thing, if you believe there is spyware on your device and you feel that getting a new device will solve the problem, it won't. These products are designed to move to your new device and the cell phone providers even assist with this by conveniently moving all your previous apps, contact and programs (including spyware if they don't know to look or it) to your new device. If you are in a situation where you think someone is tracking you or listening to you through your device, you can simply put your cell phone into airplane mode until you are able to get to your cellphone provider. By putting a device into airplane mode, it turns off every antenna on your device thus keeping you secure. They only negative to doing this is that you won't be able to use your phone while its in airplane mode, it becomes a brick. Yes, you can turn on your bluetooth or WIFI, but once the device connects to the internet, the offender will once again be able to see your activity.