With your phone number and about 5 bucks, i can easily hack into your voice mail and listen to every message if i wanted to. If your cellphone service provider is anything other than Verizon or US Cellular, it’s advisable to take an extra couple seconds to set up a PIN to your voice mail.
A method probably similar to that used by hackers at News Corp.’s British tabloid, News of the World, is using a SpoofCard to fake the outgoing caller ID. For example, if i was trying to access your voice mail, I’d use SpoofCard to make the phone company think I’m calling from your number, then I’d be directed straight to your voice mail. Hacking methods like this are probably what were used by the hackers at News News Corp.’s British tabloid News of the World.
It is imperative that you setup your voice mail to mandate that a password is used each and every time you access the mail. Even if you are calling from your own phone. Verizon and US Cellular force this to occur hence making these voice mail systems much stronger than some of those that do not.
Here’s how to secure your voice mail:
AT&T
1. Press and hold 1 to call into the voice mail system from your wireless device.
2. Press * to skip to the main menu.
3. Press 4 for personal options.
4. Press 2 for administrative options.
5. Press 1 for password options.
6. Press 1 to turn password on or off.
7. Press 2 to turn password on.
8. When prompted, enter your four- to 15-digit password, then press the # key.
Sprint
1. Access your voice mail account from your Sprint phone.
2. Once in the main menu, choose “change personal options.”
3. Next, choose “administrative options.”
4. You will hear “skip passcode is currently turned on.” To turn it off, follow the prompts.
5. The passcode you originally created will be played to you. Be sure to remember it, as you will need to enter it to gain access to your voice mail in the future.
T-Mobile
To turn off/on your voice mail password security, follow these steps:
1. Call your voice mailbox from your mobile phone by pressing and holding the 1 key or by dialing 123.
2. Once you arrive at your voice mailbox, press the * key to ensure you are in the main menu area.
3. To access the password security menu, press the 5 key.
4. To toggle your password on or off, press the 2 key.
Read more @ MSN Money
