A community partner? Hackers have an answer

Are you suspicious that your significant other is not faithful to you? Do you want to see the messages that your partner receives on their phone so as to discover his or her indiscretions?

Yes? Kenyan hackers have found a way to break the law and make money out of it, and their biggest targets are lovers who do not trust their partners.

In this age of technology, it has become easy for people to meet, fall in love and have several romantic relationships at the same time, all at the touch of a button.

And, with the popularity of online platforms and messaging services, these illicit lovers can clandestinely communicate with ease.

Seeing an opportunity to spill the beans and make money while at it, some techies have developed applications that enable suspicious partners monitor their significant other’s messaging activities, and some of them are dirt cheap.

Many of these ‘service providers’ advertise their businesses on popular social media groups.

The Nation got in touch with one such service provider, who is registered as Sussan Edward on phone number identification App TrueCaller.

She said that she would only need the couple’s phone number(s) and give access to the suspicious partner, who would then be able to see to whom and about what the partner is texting, for a one-time fee of Sh700.

On the social media platform, Sussan says she has a way to let women who want to snoop on their partner’s phones do so, even when they were far away.

She said she uses a computer to hack the phones, and that in two minutes she can enable a suspicious wife see all her husband’s correspondence since January.

She said there would be unlimited access to the phone until the day one unsubscribes from the service.

But people have mixed feelings towards the ability to spy on a partner’s phone. Ruth Muriu said she would not want to know what her husband, who works and lives abroad, is doing on his phone.

“If I knew the messages he sends, it would just give me stress and heartache; I would rather not know. It is better for our marriage if I am left in the dark,” she said.

A man, who preferred to remain anonymous due to his controversial answer, said he would hack his partner’s phone to find out what she is up to when they are not together.

“I have to know who she is talking to and what they say. But I wouldn’t want her to snoop on my phone; she would not be able to forgive me after she sees what goes on in there,” he said.

According to Tabitha Mwangi, a cybersecurity expert, letting a third party hack your partner’s phone is a crime.

“It is invasion of privacy, especially for the person who is spied on. If, for example, it is found that the person is cheating, the hacker would have information that they could use to blackmail them,” the head of security at the Centre for International and Security Affairs said.

Ms Mwangi added that many tools are available in the dark web that allow hackers access to people’s phones.

“In this case of hacking a partner’s phone, a malware or bug can be used. The kind of information that the hacker gets access to depends on what the malware is designed to do. Other than text messages, the hacker may get access to photographs,” she said.