By Leisa Zigman I-Team Reporter
St. Louis (KSDK) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster held an electronic security symposium Tuesday in St. Louis, in part because of an I-Team investigation.
This summer, with the attorney general's permission, investigative reporter Leisa Zigman hacked into his voice mail. It was part of an experiment to show how easy it is to do. Since then, the attorney general has vowed to research ways to better protect people's privacy and encourage new legislation.
Prosecutors, lawmakers, telephone company representatives and security experts took part in the symposium. Mr. Koster also flew in Michael Gregg with Superior Solutions, Inc. of Houston. He is the IT security expert who hacked into the attorney general's phone.
In addition to hacking into voice mail, Gregg explained how easy it is to send fake SMS messages.
"I can send a text message that appears to be from your child's phone number saying I'm at the school. Can you come pick me up? And when you show up at school, it's not your child; it's a stalker or someone waiting to rob you," said Gregg.
Gregg says, this technology is easily downloaded for less than $25 and can be used by just about anyone.
Often, he says, it's used by people with bad intentions.
"A lot of time they'll used it for bank fraud so they'll send a fake SMS message that says I need you to call this number to verify information. Then you call back and they say we are trying to verify your date of birth, social security number and then they use it to extract money from your bank account," said Gregg.
"Another issue involves GPS and how easy it is for a private investigator, old boyfriend or someone with bad intentions to place a device under your car and track you for days on end. I'd like to see it criminalized," said Attorney General Koster.
Koster also wants cell phone companies to do more to better protect people's privacy.
"The ability of people who have bad intent to act as if they are someone else is something the legislature should really take a look at. Whether it is false texting or cloning, these are things going on all around us but until it hits you personally you don't feel how invasive this is. We want the legislature to bring these laws up to date," he said.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce attended the symposium and was alarmed about the ease at which this technology could be used by anyone with a computer.
"There is some legislative and law enforcement things that need to happen. But even bigger ....is that we need to make sure the public is aware of it," said Joyce.
Gregg says if you receive a text message from a bank urging you to call a certain number, don't do it. He says call your local branch office and ask whether the text was sent before giving any information. When in doubt he says call first and verify, even if you think the text was sent from someone you know.
KSDK