How Hackers Break Into Your Voicemail GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Mobile Phones > Android 87 87 people found this article helpful

How Hackers Break Into Your Voicemail

By Andy O'Donnell Andy O'Donnell Writer Auburn University Andy O'Donnell, MA, is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a senior security engineer who is active in internet and network security. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on October 24, 2021 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Android Switching from iOS You may have heard about the voicemail hacking that allegedly took place in Britain's News International hacking scandal in 2011. Before the scandal, you rarely heard the terms voicemail and hacking in the same sentence. One thing that resulted from this scandal was that it got a lot of people thinking about how insecure their voicemail accounts might be. Most voicemail accounts are secured with a simple 4-digit passcode. Voicemail is typically accessed from a telephone so the passcode can only be made up of numeric digits. A numeric passcode coupled with a 4-digit PIN length reduces the total number of possible combinations to just 10,000. This may seem like it would take a while for someone to attempt, but in reality, it can be done in less than a day or two, or even faster if using a computer with a modem and a scripted autodialer program. Some people don't even bother to change their PIN/passcode from its default. In many cases, the default is either the last four digits of the phone number or something as simple as "0000," "1234" or "1111." So the harsh reality is that until voicemail password complexity catches up with the authentication methods used by other types of networks, voicemail will remain vulnerable to hacking and can be easily compromised.

Protect Your Voicemail Account From Hackers

If your voicemail system allows it, set a PIN passcode longer than four digits. It's nearly impossible to create a strong password on your voicemail box given the four-digit limitation most systems impose. If your system allows for a PIN longer than four digits, you should definitely take advantage of this feature. Simply adding two more digits increases the total number of possible combinations from 10,000 to 1,000,000, which requires significantly more time and resources to hack. An eight-digit password would yield 100,000,000 possible combos. Unless the hacker is very determined, they might move on.

Change Your Pin Code Often

You should change your PIN code every few months. If someone has already hacked into your voicemail, this will cut their access off for at least as long as it takes for them to hack back in again. Couple this with a longer PIN, and by the time the hacker runs through the 100 million possible permutations of your eight-digit PIN, you've already changed it, and they have to start all over again.

Get a Google Voice Account

If you haven't already gotten a Google Voice account you really should consider it. Google Voice gives you a phone number that you can use as a permanent number for life. It never changes. You can route your Google number to whatever cell phone or landline you want and change how phone calls are handled based on different conditions. For example, say you want to have all calls coming in on your Google number go to your home phone in the evening, have them go to voicemail at night, and then have them sent to your cellphone during the day. Google voice will let you do this time-based call routing. Everything is easily set up via a secure website that you log into. Google Voice also has fairly robust voicemail security compared to what you might get with your cell phone provider. Google Voice will let you use both PIN and caller-ID-based login restriction, where it will only let you access your voicemail when it sees that your calling from one of the numbers that you told it to permit. This adds an additional layer of security and prevents random people from attempting to have a go at your voicemail password (unless they have stolen your phone). Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Reset a Voicemail Password in Android My Phone Was Hacked. How Do I Fix It? How to Use Two Step Verification (2FA) in WhatsApp How to Use Your iPad or iPad Mini as a Phone How to Set Up Voicemail on Android How Google Voice Works How to Reset Your Amazon Prime Video PIN How to Unlock an Amazon Fire Tablet How to Use Voicemail to Text How to Set up Voicemail on iPhone 12 Remotely Reset Android Lock Screen Password and PIN Best Visual Voicemail Apps of 2022 How to Encrypt Data on an Android or iOS Device How to Use WhatsApp Privacy Settings What Does Lockdown Mode Mean on Apple Devices? How to Set up and Use Restrictions on an iPhone Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies