A cellphone scanner is a device made for intercepting calls made and received by a cellphone. An eavesdropping piece of equipment, it is usually used by law enforcement agencies who have the authority to monitor personal calls made and received by people under surveillance. While the device is widely used by the authorities, keep in mind that it is illegal to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations in compliance with privacy laws. The use of cellphone scanners is limited to law enforcement agencies to ensure that there would be no abuse.

For your information only

A cellphone scanner comes with an interceptor that picks up cellular frequencies, which allows calls made in certain ranges to be tapped. Again, you are not advised to get one yourself but there are some available in England and Canada via mail order.

As for the service, a cellphone scanner is supported by services provided by a third-party company. The third-party company is then tasked to record conversations made from any phone line, including the cellphone at any time or place. Once the calls come in, they are forwarded automatically to the company’s switch board for recording and storage. In order to retrieve a conversation, you would have to log in via the internet and key in an access number. Capable of recording inbound and outbound calls, scanner services may also be used for keeping tabs on important calls, like sales order or conference calls, and other communications of importance for reference later.

Don’t take your chances

If you feel that you really need cellphone scanners, check with your local officials first to understand what your limitations are. This will prevent you from running into trouble should you be found out. Once you understand completely what you’ll be getting into, make sure you choose cellphone scanners that record and play back conversations clearly.

Important information

Complete information on the cellphone scanner is available at PickyGuide, the authority in free consumer advice. Access top-ranked, best-reviewed, and most competitively priced scanners in PickyGuide’s recommended products section.