Forum: Author Hangout

When someone gets into your cell phone, or computer, and steals the names and e-mail addresses from your contact list, then starts sending stuff using those names and addresses as having originated messages - what's that whole process called. I suspect it is more than a "hack," but have been unable to find another term. I, personally, have received odd messages from contacts, and an inquiry results in a "thank you" for alerting them to the fact that somebody else is sending messages using their address.

There are definitely more specific terms. Unfortunately, most people don't care about specifics and so lump everything together as "hacks", which only confuses things for the people who do want to know the specifics.

The part where they get into your device and steal data is the only part that would be a hack in the traditional sense.

Sending messages/emails pretending to be the person whose device was compromised would be identity theft.

And if those false messages are designed to get the recipients to reveal their own personal information, install malware, transfer money to someone's account, etc, that's probably best described as phishing.

Hope that helps.

yer, going back further there is 'phreaking' which is a very old and one of the original forms of 'hacking' gaining access to features and data about phones. from memory it really dates from the mid 60's to early 80's.

one of the most famous 'freaks' was captain crunch. who famously found out that a particular 'whistle' from the cereal was noted at 2600Hz and gained him back end access to some public phone systems when commands were analogue tones not digital.