Unauthorized Tap 1

[andydawson]

I have an employee who complains of a clicking sound and squealing noises in his handset. This is on a Definity system. He is concerned that his phone is tapped. I assured him that a lay person would not be able to tap his phone, but is it possible for an extension to be cloned at another location? There are some other circumstances involved and an administrative investigation is underway, but would it be possible for a system administrator to set up a second extension that behaves identically to this employee's extension?

 

[phoneguy55]

Service Observe would allow this. I would bet that if you change the coil cord and maybe the handset, these noises will go away. Changing coil cords on 8410D's is the most common problem I see as an admin.

 

[irisngen]

it could also be an enviormental issue, i ran into cases where a user has his cord near a blacberry & it causes slight noises due to interference.

Phoneguy is right though; replace the handset & handset cord first.

 

[98Converter]

Do a li usage extension xxxx where xxxx is his extension. It will tell you all that his extension is associated with. This will tell you if his ext. is bridged somewhere...

If they're not satisfied with the previous posts ideas, change the port, and extend dialtone on a different house pair, then a different pair in his jack.

Make sure his COR does not have Can Be Service Observed as an option.

This will eliminate all chances of his phone being tapped... unless of course it's trunk side - but you'd hear more people complaining...

Hope this helps,
CJH

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. ARISTOTLE 384-322 B.C.

 

[berniebrown432]

You didn't say if this is an analog, digital, or IP station.

If it's analog, it can be tapped anywhere along the wire from the set all the way back to the PBX. Inspect your distribution frames. Also, if they are really that suspect, change all of the pairs from the PBX all the way to the jack, but that will leave you with a jack with non-standard wiring.

If it's digital or IP, it's HIGHLY unlikely that it's tapped. Certainly, you could have bridged appearances, but you could find those with the list bridged <primary extension> command. Plus, the individual concerned would have a CONFERENCE indicator on the set's display.

There is one type of tap made for digital stations. It IS used for recording calls. That is a Call Logger or Call Recorder used to provide quality assurance or compliance recording. One brand is NICE. Another is Witness. There are probably others out there that have the same hardware tap capability. I would assume you would know if you have this.

Another possible way to monitor a user's conversation is with Service Observing. You could check to see if the FAC is administered or if any stations have Service Observe buttons. Even this can be prevented by placing the user in a COR that no other COR has permission to monitor.

After these, you get into the more obscure reasons for the clicking. There is the possibility that you have a T1 slipping. This will cause popping sounds as it keeps trying to resynchronize. There is also the possibility of the handset cord. It could be wearing out, or the user could have one of those swivels that is used to keep the cord from twisting up. When they wear out from all the turning, they start to cause static and eventually prevent the station from being useable. It could even be interference from PC monitors, florescent desk lights, or other sources of electrical induction.

My first choice would be to change out the entire desk setup: the set, the handset, the handset cord, and the wall cord. First, it rules out defective hardware. Second, it makes a very visible change to the user. Also, if there is no business need to monitor this person, give the an Exclusion button or set the station for Auto Exclusion. The will prevent anyone from monitoring from within the system. It will also prevent Music on Hold from working.

Sorry about the long-winded answer, but a problem perceived by a user is a real problem to that user. They will not go away until they perceive that it is gone.

Good luck!
Bernie

 

[andydawson]

Thanks for the feedback, especially all the details Bernie. I have one more inquiry. If a sys admin (not me) wer to "bridge" a phone for the purpose of illegaly recording conversations, and later decide to eliminate the bridge, would there be any log or audit trail that would indicate the phone was previously bridged? If so, would it indicate the administrator that bradged and unbridged it? Thanks.

Andy.

 

[orypecos]

I agree that the swivels that are used to try and avoid the cords from getting tangled are famous for making noise.
U can do 'list history' and then press 'help', and make the search look changes for that particular station.

 

[orypecos]

Also fax machines, wool and pollyester cloths, and wigs can cause static. U could also ask around to see if the employee has numerous episodes of 'attacks of the munches' induced by smoking sum of dat funny weed. That can cause paraniod feelings.

 

[mikeydidit]

The last time I was TOLD that I was tapping someone's phone was because their husband caught them cheating with another man. They told me it had to be me because she only told one person (her best friend) and she knew that "she" would not tell on her.....

The first 3 major forms of communications..
1. Telephone
2. Telegraph
3. Tell a women

"I just know I will get it for the above."






Mikey