Is My House Being Bugged?

Have you asked yourself, “Is my house being bugged?”

photo man listening with headphones

Is my house being bugged?

Do you have a divorce pending in the Tennessee court? Is your spouse of the kind who would eavesdrop and record your phone calls? Do you have a feeling, a sixth sense, that something is just not right? Are you not being left to the peaceful privacy of your own home? Do you suspect that every move you make is being watched, taped, tracked, or spied upon? You may be right. In any divorce there is the potential for a spouse to bug the house, wiretap the phone, and listen in on private communications.

It’s About Control

Some people do go too far. Yes, this is something that should be of concern to you. When divorce is imminent, one spouse may have such a strong desire to control the other that he or she will do just about anything. Which includes planting bugs in the house, monitoring the other spouse, spying and cyber-spying, wiretapping and eavesdropping on communications, and the like.

Hidden video cameras, microphones, wiretaps, and electronic spy gadgetry could be surreptitiously located throughout the residence, ensuring that no corner is private and every activity and conversation is captured. Evidence gathered in this manner is often intended for the courtroom as a way to impact alimony, child custody, child support, and the division of property. In some cases, though, monitoring one’s spouse is part of a more threatening domestic environment.

When divorcing a narcissistic spouse or the spouse who threatens domestic violence, by way of example only, secretly bugging the house can also be about maintaining control over the other person living there. The lyrics of one song mirror the emotional intensity experienced in many of these spying divorce cases:

I put a spell on you because you’re mine

You better stop the things that you do

I ain’t lyin’, no, I ain’t lyin’

I just can’t stand it babe

The way you’re always runnin’ ’round

I just can’t stand it, the way you always put me down

I put a spell on you because you’re mine

…

[I Put a Spell on You, recorded by Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins (1956)]

The lyrics are troubling and a little creepy, but so is divorcing someone who would bug your house or apartment to gather information about what you do in the privacy of your own home. Hacking a spouse’s laptop or using an app to geo-track and intercept communications to get ahead in the divorce is not only creepy, it is, with very limited exceptions, unlawful and even criminal.

Bugging, Wiretapping, Hacking, and Spying in Tennessee Divorce

In a divorce situation, electronic surveillance and spying on the other spouse almost always opens a nasty can of worms. Before taking matters into your own hands and regretting it later, talk to an experienced divorce attorney. The simple act of installing a keystroke logger on the home computer, for example, could result in big problems. Consider the following situation.

When the husband uses keystroke logging software to capture his wife’s secret password and obtain her private emails to and from a third party, how those emails were obtained is relevant to the question of whether the evidence is admissible in court. The husband’s credibility with the judge could be seriously damaged, tainting his case. The court may question the husband’s integrity, veracity, honesty, and propensity for truthfulness. Once the means of obtaining the email are made known to the court, that the party offering the evidence obtained it by hacking the other spouse’s private email account, the judge may raise the bar on any other evidence that party attempts to admit.

The intensity of the emotions at play in a divorce can be like no other. (Child custody contests being a good example.) Divorce does get the better of some spouses, motivating them to do uncharacteristic, even crazy things. A few examples are bugging the residence after they separate to monitor the other spouse’s activities, hacking into the wife’s private computer, and tracking every incoming and outgoing call on the husband’s cell phone. These activities can quickly cross the line separating lawful inquiry from unlawful surveillance, spying, or cyber-spying.

Spying and bugging the house can be problematic on two levels. First, when a spouse finds out that she’s been spied on for weeks, divorce negotiations will almost certainly turn in a different direction and it won’t be pleasant. Second, state and federal laws specifically prohibit certain surveillance activities. The potential consequences of bugging the house and wiretapping the telephone include fines and jail time for the spying spouse.

What Motivates a Party to Spy on the Other Spouse?

computer screen with spyware

What would motivate a spouse to bug the house? More often than not, it is to gain a foothold in the Tennessee divorce. There are many reasons why one spouse would seek advantage in a divorce, legal separation, or family law case. Every divorce issue is, at least arguably, an opportunity to offer evidence that could weaken the other spouse’s case. For instance:

  • Child Custody – email evidence of a parent’s offer to buy narcotics illegally.
  • Child Support – audiotape evidence of a telephone conversation about hiding cash income from the other spouse and the court.
  • Alimony – videotape evidence of an amorous interlude with a third party.
  • Property Division – web-streaming video evidence of online gambling losses that dissipated marital assets.

Legal strategy is relevant in every family law case. But there is also the psychological strategy, the control factor, that can play a role in the final outcome of the divorce. Does that make spying a good idea? No. Could bugging the house backfire? Absolutely!

Consider this comparison of two very different divorce strategies:

In the first divorce, the Tennessee spouses negotiated a property settlement. Doing so allowed them to maintain the greatest control over the outcome. They concluded that it was preferable to decide between themselves what comprised the marital estate, the value of their assets, and who would get what property (and be assigned which debt) instead of leaving it for the judge to determine at trial. The strategy for each spouse was to benefit from reasonableness, cooperation, negotiation, divorce mediation, and litigation avoidance when possible. The parties resolved their differences and prepared a Marital Dissolution Agreement (MDA) with the agreed upon terms. The judge incorporated their MDA into the final divorce decree. This couple avoided the expense and emotional cost of a divorce trial.

In the second divorce, one spouse’s strategy was to be awarded most of the marital property and to receive as much alimony as possible. In other words, her strategy was to “take him to the cleaners.” To implement that strategy, she needed proof of marital misconduct; namely that her husband had an extramarital affair. To obtain concrete evidence of adultery, she hacked into his private email account and copied all correspondence between the husband and the other woman. Those emails were offered in court as evidence of adultery, as proof that her husband was guilty of marital misconduct and responsible for the divorce. (Adultery is grounds for divorce in Tennessee and is also a factor in calculating alimony.) She pulled away from negotiation and moved toward a strategy of litigation with a full-blown divorce trial.

Neither of these scenarios is outlandish. The first example involved the couple who chose to avoid litigation to arrive at a fair settlement and MDA. It may not be a perfect settlement, but it is one they can both live with. The second example involved an embittered party who sought vindication and punishment for the other spouse. So much so that she was willing to violate the law to obtain evidence of adultery.

Illegally obtained evidence should never see the light of day in the courtroom. In fact, obtaining email evidence without authorization or consent could be a crime under federal law, Tennessee law, or both. Let’s take a closer look.

Does Tennessee Law Prohibit Bugging the House?

Even in a pending divorce, both the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and Tennessee law prohibit intentional interception, disclosure, or access to another person’s private communications with someone else without first obtaining consent or authorization. That is called spying, whether the unauthorized access and interception was a result of bugging the house, tapping a telephone, or videotaping a spouse’s tete-a-tete from a distance.

Under the Tennessee Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, when the house is bugged, for instance, at least one party to the captured communication must know that it is being recorded for the audiotape or videotape to be lawfully obtained and admissible in court as evidence.

Say the evidence is used to prove adultery. If the audiotaped communication was between the wife and her lover, neither being aware at the time that their intimate conversation was being recorded, then the husband who wrongfully taped the private communication should not be allowed to get the evidence in. The recording would be inadmissible as unlawfully obtained evidence in violation of Tennessee law. Furthermore, the husband in this example could face a Class D felony charge as well as a civil lawsuit for actual damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, reasonable attorney’s fees, and court costs.

But consider a different example. The husband records a private conversation between himself and his wife in which she admits that she’s been having an extramarital affair for several months. In that instance, the recorded communication might be admissible as evidence of adultery. Why? Because at least one party to the communication, the husband, was aware at the time that the conversation was being recorded.

Always consult a lawyer before taking any action that could violate the ECPA or the Tennessee Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act.

Tips and Trojan Horses with Built-In Electronics for Spying

Are you concerned that your house may be bugged? When it comes to bugging a house, there are a few dirty tricks to know about. (You may be surprised at the lengths to which a spouse will go in order to spy on the other party.)

So you do not inadvertently welcome a hidden microphone or mini-cam into your bedroom, take note of the following tips:

  1. Are the things in your home not as you left them? Pay attention. Most of us can sense when something has been moved even slightly since we last handled it. If things around the house seem to be out of place, even slightly out of position, that may indicate the house is bugged.

    photo of bugged teddy bear false gift

    Beware false gifts from your spouse

  2. Beware the false gift from your spouse. Really think about this. Why is your spouse sending you a gift? It could be a Trojan horse, a teddy bear with a camera in its eye, a smartphone with an app to track your every move, or a car with all new spyware pre-installed.
  3. Are knickknacks, pictures, or other items suddenly appearing in your house? It may not be an attempt to redecorate. Many recording devices and cameras today are very small and can be mounted just about anywhere.
  4. Is there a new home repair project? Look for minor home repairs, new decor, or structural modifications to the home that could be used to create a secret place to hide recording equipment.
  5. Does the home computer have a new look? Is there new software? Is it running differently, more slowly, not normally? Did your spouse take the computer in for “repairs” or “upgrading” or had the hard drive pulled? That could be a ruse, an opportunity to add spyware, key loggers, or to access and copy everything on the hard drive.
  6. Secure your smartphone. Password protection is a great way to secure the privacy of your phone calls, text messages, website searches, and video sends.
  7. Does the telephone work like it should? For those who use a land line for telephone service, noises on the line during a call (beeps, scratches, clicks) may indicate that the phone is wiretapped. That is especially so when the line has always provided a clear connection in the past.
  8. Visually inspect the premises. If you know what to look for, you may be able to spot a wiretap or bug in the house. A wiretap is a device attached to the telephone or telephone line. A bug has a microphone and may have a video camera (so there would be a hole for the lens). A power source is needed to keep wiretaps and bugs running and recording. That power source may be easier to locate than the bug. Look for a hard wire connection in the house, in the car’s wiring, or something that could accommodate batteries for a wireless recording device, such as alarm clock, statue, or stuffed animal.
  9. Too many creepy coincidences. Your spouse shows up at the same restaurant at the same time you made plans to meet a friend. You call daycare to say you’ll be late picking up the children, but they already know because “the other parent just picked them up.” When your spouse knows where you will be without your having said so, then you are probably being monitored.

Today’s technology and product availability has made spying on a spouse easier than ever before. Be very aware of anything that seems out of the ordinary. And if something is out of place or is odd, immediately convey that information to your divorce attorney. With bugs and wiretaps, privileged communications with your lawyer may have been compromised, too.

A private investigator can be hired to do a professional sweep. If indeed you are being monitored, then immediate action should be taken to remedy the situation. If a spouse has violated Tennessee law or the ECPA, then there may be additional legal consequences beyond the scope of the divorce.

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