Part 2 of 2:
Please Read Part 1 before Part 2 here
via GIPHY
Let's start with some background first. Like all fandoms, people develop friendships because of mutual interests regarding their OTPs. The exchange of phone numbers, emails and texts are quite common in the world of fandom. Therefore, it's fairly obvious that M&M and I keep in close contact; emails fly back and forth as well as phone calls. About a year ago, we had suspected that our emails had been hacked/compromised. The creeping started when M&M's email was hacked. Patterns and observations that had been discussed in emails suddenly began to be addressed online, through planted quotes in interviews or photographic evidence. I can't post the tweeter's account name, but this is part of the tweet I am referring to in the following email exchange.
2/17/16, 04:45
That's great. Thanks Steph! #JakeGyllenhaal #MostUpdatedFansiteEver
Feb
17 at 5:14 AM [2016]
And
so I replied to him just now and I asked him, are you talking about her Twitter
or the fan Site? And he tweeted back the IHJ fan site, meaning IHJ
itself. Remember, [M & M], you just said either last night or the day
before that you believed Stephanie was gone from IHJ. Look what [tweeter]
did. He mentioned "Steph" by name and then hash tagged
#MostUpdatedFansiteEver. Since when have I seen him address Stephanie on
Twitter before? Like......I can't even remember.
They are tapping my phone. I don't know how. Unless it's bc maybe I've used my cellphone to receive notifications. I know that I have used my phone before to receive text verifications from a few places.
When these kinds of direct reactions to observations discussed in phone conversations began to accumulate, it was time to cut some cords. Smart phones are great but make no mistake, they are computers and can be accessed remotely. It's as simple as clicking on a URL link or a picture sent through a direct message. Malware can be sent through an infected link and suddenly access to one's phone is achieved. It's amazing how this experience has educated us IT operations. LOL! Seriously, this is how we believe our phone calls were being monitored, courtesy of either one or two Austin Nichols "fan" twitter accounts whom I DM'd with on a regular basis at the time. Just this story alone can be a post for another day.
Another big clue on phone hacking was that I began to hear clicking noises during M&M and my phone conversations, usually starting within the first minute or two of conversation. The sound was similar to someone pressing on the buttons of a phone. The noises would continue throughout the call. Factory re-setting the phone did not seem to work with my smartphone, probably because the malware was already in a photo, which carried over every time I reset anyway (good ol' Big Brother Google). So, what to do?
The final solution? A flip phone. We purchased a flip phone for myself to use, one which only was for phone calls between ourselves. The Internet option is not used. Texting - not used. Only phone calls.Very basic, old school as possible.
Well, not much time passed before odd things began to happen again. Within mere days, this was the first of a repeated same message which popped up on my screen when I would open the phone or turn it on:
Over. And over. And over again. When it first occurred, I asked M&M if she had received a notice of an update from AT&T and she said, "No." So why was I getting it? You can only back out of the message if you select "Remind me later". After discussion with an AT&T representative, we were told this was definitely someone trying to hack into the phone because AT&T did not send this message nor did they ever notify customers in this fashion.
Our first question was how on earth were we tracked down? Well, whoever had been lurking before, certainly had our phone numbers. They knew what times of the day/evening we tended to talk. Voila!
How to tell if your phone has been hacked - Techlicious
Signs and Symptoms of a Hacked Smartphone
After searching the internet, we read that one course of action to take was to factory re-set the phone. So I do this every time I have received this message, which has been too many times to count. Here are some examples of other attempts to access my flip phone:
A "missed call" from a phone number with only 9 digits. How does something like this even get through?
The following was weird - happened a couple of times. One morning, I hung up from a call with M&M and my phone screen began this "15 of 15 media countdown". Couldn't get it off the screen and finally had to just power it off. Not positive this one was an access attempt, but too hinky not to include with the others.
It cannot be stressed enough how many of these messages have been received:
Lots of weird backgrounds, huh? There's my boring car seat upholstery, part of my "ear of corn" purse, the wieners' house sunroom table, the kitties' house, part of my bedside table. LOL!! Sorry about that.
M&M has talked to several AT&T staff who have indicated that someone is definitely trying to hack into our phones. Well, gee whiz, guess who that would be.
Some will probably ask why would mangement try to hack into someone's phone? How about to try to intimidate and create a chilling effect regarding privacy and general safety. And then there is the more strategic goal of listening into observances and speculations in order to react and "correct" photo ops or interviews. Or, to reshape the narrative in a way that makes a stunt seem more plausible.
For closeted celebrities such as Jake and Austin, Louis and Harry, Jared and Jensen, the stakes are very high in the protection of what's being hidden from fans and the general public. Certainly, there have been incidents of Larries being harassed on tumblr and being sent threatening emails when the girls had no idea how their email addresses were discovered. And Narnia wrote a four-part post on how Decoding Anna was bullied off the internet.
This two (2)-part post has always been planned, but was accelerating due to recent taunting from a twitter troll. A troll attached to the same team we have been discussing.
Hopefully, the points that have been made here have helped to enlighten, and make people more aware that freedom of speech means nothing to these trolls. They have a mission to harass, disrupt, discredit, and intimidate. Secrets must be protected at all costs and fandom casualties are simply collateral damage. Fake news is the goal and if someone dares to suggest that the emperor has no clothes, attack dogs will be unleashed.
All that's required is to simply ignore the drama and let the troll's head explode into rants and hissy fits because the last thing they really want is to be exposed. Therefore, the ultimate message is to continue to blog. Continue to have fun. Continue to use your critical thinking skills. Don't let the powers that be silence your voice.
Have a good Sunday.
pic source: Giphy
our playlist: Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra
Wherever You Will Go - The Calling
Eye on You - Billy Squier
Telephone - Sheena Easton
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