Thursday, March 28, 2024

How To Know If Police Are Watching You

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Call Your Local Police Department

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You can call your local police department, give them the address of where you see the police cars and they will tell you what they can.

Simply say something like Hey, Im not trying to be nosey but is there anything that I should be concerned about as a neighbor?

Every state has different legal regulations on what type of information police are able to give out so dont be surprised if your police department may not be able to divulge more than you would like.

Also some police departments have a public relations officer that you may be able to contact in order to get information about your specific neighborhood.

Tech Giants Vs The Government

We worry about tech giants like Facebook and Google watching us. But we also tend to forget that theyre companies based inside countries and have to abide by the local law.

If you ever thought your Facebook data was limited to the platform, Im sorry to disappoint you. We already know that the government collects metadata. But companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft also share a lot of information with the government .

From 2013 to 2019, data requests made by the government from big tech companies have grown by 213%. This increase might be due to the changes that happened after the NSA file leak in 2013.

Whatever the case may be, government surveillance is on the rise. The good news is that the companies dont always comply with these requests. However, the requests they comply with range from 55% to 76% .

However, such requests are for specific cases. Its usually about what metadata cannot show about a person .

What Can The Government Do With Metadata

Small amounts of metadata about you are not that scary. But when taken in bulk and over a long period of time, it can reveal:

  • Places you frequent.Visiting the building two blocks away every Tuesday and Thursday why? Oh, yoga class? Ok.
  • Your hobbies and interests.Picking up fishing, I see. Awfully strange for someone who never learned how to swim.
  • People close to you.I see youre very close with X. Did you know they have a criminal record? Doesnt bother you? Interesting.
  • Whom and how often you call.We see youve called your psychiatrist three times last week and once after midnight. Where were you on July 15th?
  • Your method of communication.You always use WhatsApp but send a couple of messages a month through Signal. Care to explain yourself? No? Smart.

The list can stretch as far as your imagination. The thing is, bulks of metadata accumulate and reveal patterns in our actions. In turn, these patterns can be used to make allegations, something weve already seen happen recently with AI technology.

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Be Aware And Take Action

While most of us are working remotely, were using our webcams more than ever to hold video meetings with our team and crew. If youre holding these types of meetings, be aware of anything suspicious on the call, and only let team members in by giving them a password.

Putting that aside, your camera and files could still be hacked. Consider the four tips in this article as a guideline and take action when needed.

Police Interrogations Of Suspects

How To Know If Police Are Watching You

Police will want to interrogate suspects in a controlled environment. If you are a suspect, they will want you to come to the station and sit in a small, unappealing room where they can intimidate you, question you, and even lie to you. The point of this interrogation is obtaining a confession, and detectives are often trained and skilled in questioning individuals. This training may cause them to play nice. They may tell you they just want to hear your side of the story, so they can clear up any misunderstanding. They may claim they are trying to help you, your family members, or friends.

The police may try other tactics to get you to confess to a crime. They are allowed to lie to you during an investigation. They can claim they have evidence or testimony they do not really have. A detective is allowed to trick you to get you to say something you otherwise would not or mean.

These interrogations are serious and emotionally challenging. You should never agree to be questioned by police without a lawyer present.

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Police Have The Right To Search Any Abandoned Property

If you leave your suitcase unattended in the airport to run to the bathroom, the police have every right to search it. This was determined in the landmark 1997 United States v. Tugwell Supreme Court case, which determined that whenever a person leaves property unattendedintentionally or otherwisethey forfeit any privacy protections provided by the Fourth Amendment.

Your Am/fm Radio Has Suddenly Developed Strange Interference

Many amateur and SpyShop eavesdropping devices use frequencies within or just outside the FM radio band, these signals tend to drift and will quiet an FM radio in the vicinity of the bug. Look for the transmissions at far ends of the FM radio band, and at any quiet area within the FM band. If the radio begins to squeal then slowly move it around the room until the sound becomes very high pitched. This is referred to as feedback detection or loop detection and will often locate the bug. The Stereo function should be turned off so the radio is operating in Mono as this will provide a serious increase in sensitivity. If you find a squealer in this manner then immediately contact Eagle Investigative Services and schedule a consultation.

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Is The Indicator Light Misbehaving

Does your webcam indicator blink abnormally or go on without you prompting it? If so, someone could be controlling it without your consent. Sometimes, other computer programs or browser extensions that you are running in the background could be using your webcam, thus causing the abnormal blinking. On other occasions, the indicator will malfunction because of a technical problem with your computer. But, you shouldnt leave anything to chance when it gets to your cybersecurity. Be on top of things at all times.

Telephone Cable Plumbing Or Air Conditioning Repair People Show Up To Do Work When No One Called Them

Touch Your Mirror to Know If Someone’s Watching You

A very common ruse which eavesdroppers use to get into a facility is to fake a utility outage, and then show up to fix the problem. While they are fixing the problem they are also installing eavesdropping devices. Some of the more popular outages involve power, air conditioning, telephone, and even the occasional false fire alarm.

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Would The Government Actually Bug The Courthouse Grounds To Eavesdrop On Private Conversationsanswer:

Yes, they would, and they did just this by secretly installing microphones in at least three locations outside a California courthouse in 2009 and 2010. A motion was recently filed by criminal defendants who are seeking to prevent the use of hundreds of hours of recorded conversations as evidence against them. With the go-ahead from the Department of Justice and FBI lawyers, the government made the warrantless recordings with electronic bugs hidden in a planter, a wall-mounted metal sprinkler box and vehicles parked near an entrance to the courthouse. This violates a defendants Fourth Amendment rights of a reasonable expectation of privacy. Or does it? Your home, your car, your lawyers office are all private places. Are places that are open to the public really private?

And They Can Trick You Into Giving Them Your Dna

If you don’t want the police to have your DNA on file, then don’t accept a cup of coffee or water from them. According to Nicholas J. Moore, Esq., a San Diego trial attorney, it is well within the police officer’s rights to obtain DNA samples from anything you touchand “a positive DNA match to an active crime scene is usually sufficient for an arrest and a charge.”

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Of Letters And Records

You may receive a subpoena or a target letter. This is evidence that youre under criminal investigation.

If no one has contacted you yet, you could ask a private investigator to check criminal databases. Investigators would have clearances that help them access records not available to the public.

Visit the district attorneys office to know if you have a pending court case. However, you shouldnt normally have to do this because they will send you a notice to appear in court.

The Police Aren’t Required To Read You Your Rights If You Aren’t Being Detained

How To Know If Police Are Watching You

The Miranda rightsthat is to say, the rights that police officers are obligated to read when they arrest someoneonly apply to custodial interrogations, or interrogations that happen while someone is in police custody. When it comes to non-custodial interrogations that people give of their own free will, the police are not legally required to read the Miranda rightsand as such, anything a person says during an optional questioning can be used against them in court.

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The Nsa Leak Exposed The Uk Government Too

The NSA files leaked by Snowden revealed the UKs involvement in the same data-tracking network as the US government.

What happened? The UK Government Communications Headquarters was running a mass surveillance system, Tempora,together with the US. Tempora is a program that intercepts and examines all data running through fiber-optic communication cables in the UK.

What does the GCHQ collect? Email messages, public and private social media posts, phone calls and IDs, browsing histories.

What does this mean? All data traveling through the fiber-optic cables in the UK and the US is being inspected by their governments.

  • CPC with 16x10g,

The GCHQ called the Tempora program Mastering the internet. Sounds shady? All this information collection and processing is deemed legal by the countries because it is metadata.

This data was said to be processed by over 300 GCHQ and 250 NSA analysts. They examined keywords, emails, and web addresses and noted down what they needed.

It is important to note that metadata is data about data. It does not include the contents of emails, phone calls, or data packets. It includes their IDs, IP addresses, time, location, and other identifiers.

Its the same information that many ad brokers and marketers use when trying to make you purchase something. However, it is still an invaluable resource for the government, especially for intelligence.

You Have The Right To Look At Any Search Warrants

If the cops ever show up at your house and claim to have a search warrant, you can exercise your right to actually read said warrant. “You’re welcome to read at your leisure,” Christopher Hawk, a retired member of the police force, noted on Quora. “If the warrant turns out to be defective, you have remedies available through the court system. Evidence can be thrown out, civil suits can be brought against the department, etc.” Just bear in mind that the police don’t have to wait for you to read the warrant before entering your home.

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This Story Is Part Of A Group Of Stories Called

Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing and changing us.

If youve ever read a privacy policy, you may have noticed a section that says something about how your data will be shared with law enforcement, which means if the police demand it and have the necessary paperwork, theyll likely get it. But maybe, like most American adults, you dont read privacy policies very carefully if at all. In that case, you might be surprised to learn how much of your data is in the hands of third parties, how much access law enforcement has to it, how it might be used against you, or what your rights are if any to prevent it.

Many of the Capitol insurrectionists might be discovering this now, as cases against them are built with evidence taken from internet services like Facebook and Google. While they left a trail of digital evidence for investigators to follow, not all of that data was publicly available. If you read through cases of people charged with crimes relating to the events in Washington on January 6, youll find the FBI also obtained internal records from various social media platforms and mobile phone carriers.

Basically, if a company collects and stores your data, then the police can probably get their hands on it. And when it comes to your digital life, theres a lot of your data held by third parties out there to obtain. Heres how they get it.

Ways To Know If Someone Is Watching You On Your Camera

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Run From The Police #2

You may be familiar with Zoom Bombing , where hackers interrupt online meetings with all sorts of spam. Whether this has happened to you or someone you know, in this era of video chatting and social media live streaming, your computers webcam can never be more relevant.

But, just like any other tech devices, webcams are prone to hacking, which can lead to a serious, unprecedented privacy breach. Think of a case where an authorized person accesses and illegally takes control of your webcam, without your knowledge. Such a person will effortlessly spy on you and the people around you. And, depending on the value and quantity of data stolen, there can be dire repercussions on your part.

Just because it hasnt happened to you yet shouldnt be a reason for you to imagine that you are safe. The art of criminals recording video footage and then extorting money from people through isnt an idle Hollywood cliché it happens to real people. That is why you should be extra careful whenever you see any suspicious changes to your camera.

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Can I Find Out Why The Police Were At My Neighbors House

If you are friendly enough with your neighbor you can certainly ask and offer your assistance if its needed. You may of course be told to mind your own business so be prepared for that.

If your neighbor was arrested, then there will be a public report published online.

Each state and each county will have their own website for that information. Some examples are

Can I Be Placed At A Crime Scene With Nothing More Than Cellphone Recordsanswer:

Yes, you can. However, the use of cellphone records to place suspects at or near crime scenes is coming under attack in courts nationwide. Cellphone records are often used as evidence, relied upon to trace which cell tower was used to make or receive a call and then determine a callers whereabouts. But experts say that using a single tower to precisely locate where someone was at the time of a crime has severe limitations. And while good criminal defense lawyers now recognize the problems with such evidence, the FBI continues to rely heavily on this form of evidence in its investigations. As a Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer, I have argued the unreliability of this type of evidence.

In fact, the FBI wants to expand its full-time team of 32 agents dedicated to the analysis of cell-site data and it has trained more than 5,000 state and local police investigators in the basic methodology. But the expert testimony in court is often incorrect and judges are starting to rule that the analysis of cellphone records is not scientifically valid or reliable in locating people, in part because investigators have overstated its accuracy.

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Have You Committed A Crime Signs You May Be Under Investigation

You will likely be investigated if youve done something that may be considered a crime. Be on the alert because the police might be wiretapping you or observing your actions.

If you associate with people who have been arrested, its possible that you may be, too. This is why you should be updated about whats happening in your circle.

One Of Your Vendors Just Gave You Any Type Of Electronic Device Such As A Desk Radio Alarm Clock Lamp Small Tv Boom Box Cd Player And So On

End Of Watch: How Cops See Themselves

Many of these gifts are actually Trojan horses which contain eavesdropping devices. Be very suspicious of any kind of pen, marker, briefcase, calculator, post-it dispenser, power adapter, pager, cell phone, cordless phone, clock, radio, lamp, and so on that is given as a gift. That little gift the salesman left for you may be a serious hazard.

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What Do Stalkers Have In Common

Whatever category your stalker comes under, they all share some commonalities:

  • They are convinced that they are in the right, that they deserve to watch you or that you belong to them in some way.
  • They have no ideaor dont carewhat effect their behavior has on you.
  • They are able to rationalize their actions to any degree. In fact, they dont think they are doing anything wrong or out of the ordinary.

Over 85% of victims are stalked by someone they know.

Option : Take Out Your Battery When Not In Use

Every component of the phone will be active only when the battery is in the phone. So, dont just turn OFF your phone since it can still be traced. Take out the battery immediately you realize that you are being tracked. You may occasionally have to make outgoing calls from payphones since they are not actively tracked.

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