Becareful!!!! cell phone voice mail hacking

Sienna Miller, alleged celebrity victim of mobile phone voicemail hacking. - Sienna Miller photo by Maggie Jumps.

Police in the United Kingdom have launched a further investigation into celebrity allegations of mobile phone voicemail hacking by journalists at the News of the World newspaper, Britain's biggest selling Sunday newspaper.

Celebrities' Mobile Phone Voicemails Hacked

Scores of celebrities and public figures have come forward with allegations or concerns that their mobile phone voicemail services were hacked by News of the World reporters snooping to get gossip and information for news stories. BBC News reports that alleged victims of mobile phone voicemail hacking include: celebrity Sienna Miller, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, London Mayor Boris Johnson, comedian Lenny Henry, singer George Michael, Heather Mills and high-profile publicist Max Clifford.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating the allegations. This re-opens an inquiry four years ago that led to the imprisonment of News of the World Royal correspondent Clive Goodman in January 2007.

 

Goodman admitted to accessing the mobile voicemail messaging services of various Royal contacts and listening to private messages without authorisation. In the United Kingdom, this is a criminal offence.

More allegations were made against the News of the World in January 2011, prompting Scotland Yard to re-open its inquiry. The case threatens to extend beyond News of the World journalists. The problem of mobile phone voicemail hacking is suspected to involve journalists and news investigators from other newspapers in Britain.

Prevent Mobile Phone Voicemail Hacking

You don't need to be a celebrity or politician to get your phone hacked by journalists. Everyone is vulnerable to snoopers and eavesdroppers. Would you want your ex-partner or boss listening into your mobile phone voicemail messages? The answer is probably a vocal "no!"

So what steps can you take to protect your mobile phone and keep those voicemail messages private?
Always enable a security pin-code on your mobile phone voicemail service. Many people don't bother, leaving the code as the default code supplied with the phone. That makes your phone extremely vulnerable to snoopers and hackers. If they know your pin code, they can access your mobile phone messages. And finding the default pin-code for a specific mobile phone brand or mobile phone network is extremely easy.

Mobile Phone Voicemail Hacking Security Tips

Choose a pin-code that is hard to guess. Lots of people choose their birthdate or postal code. These will be the first numbers hackers try, so make it difficult to crack.
If you don't know how to set up a security pin-code on your mobile phone then contact your mobile phone operator's customer services number or visit their website.
Always delete voicemail messages from your mobile phone after you've listened to them. Leaving old messages hanging around on the system is asking for trouble from snoopers, hackers and maybe even nosey journalists.