VietNamNet Bridge – It’s so easy to do wiretapping nowadays with the support of high technology. The next-generation bugs tend to be smaller and have more useful features, including the global positioning GPS.

The eavesdropping device market has become more bustling recently with the appearance of a series of new products. Some years ago, people heard about the devices which allowed to eavesdrop from a distance through the GSM wave. Now the devices are getting cheaper with more useful features, including the GPS one.

One can find the ad pieces about the sale of GPS bugs on a lot of websites where the devices are advertised as very small and useful, named GPS Tracker TK102, GPS One. Especially, the products have become cheaper and cheaper, sold at VND2.2-2.8 million per product, which is VND400,000-600,000 dong lower than in 2012.

The device has GPS chips inside, used to catch the signals from satellites and find out the positions of mobile phones’ SIM, which will then receive or send SMS messages and transmit signals through GPRS wave.

The device can operate with the power from vehicle batteries like car batteries, or back-up batteries, which have the standby time of up to tens of hours.

The device operates based on two kinds of wave – GPS satellite wave and mobile wave – to transmit the information about the positions of targeted devices to mobile phones or computers.

TK102 has been introduced as the useful products to supervise vehicles online, so as to keep a watch over the vehicles’ positions, moving speed and the moving process. However, since the device is very small, it has also been used for different other purposes, including serving eavesdroppers.

The “hi-tech” products are believed to be the imports from China. Though the devices have been available at many retail markets, they have not yet become popular because of the high prices, according to a petty merchant at the Dong Dang Market in the border province of Lang Son.

While GPS bugs are considered high-class products, the bugs with disguised cameras have been more popular. It is estimated that tens of products of this kind have been available on the market.

One just needs to spend VND500,000 to buy a device, or VND700,000 if he bought the bugs half an year ago. The device allows to eavesdrop through GSM wave and record images, but it does not allow to eavesdrop through GSM SIM.

At the border markets in Lang Son province, X3 is now considered the smallest eavesdropping device. Since it’s tiny, just equal to two fingers, it has been favored by customers. Especially, the products are very cheap at just VND900,000.

X3 has built-in SIM card slot and battery. In order to eavesdrop, one needs to make a call to the phone number with the SIM readily installed on the device, the device would automatically activate, allowing eavesdropper to catch the sounds from a long distance.

Meanwhile, the bugs with disguised cameras have been designed to become “smarter” and “more friendly.” If one can see a computer mouse with Lenovo and Genius brands on it, he may think that this is a bug. Besides, the bugs could also be designed to have the appearance like a suit button.

Small devices now tend to be more favored that the biggest ones. A customer who asked for a bug in the shape of a pen, was told by the owner of a shop that only low-tech people use this device nowadays. “Since it is big, it would be easily discovered,” the shop owner said.

NLD