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Help Found a File With My Texts Logged

H

Haley Slaughter

Lurker
I found a text in my file manager. It is called "sms.xml". It is a record with every text I have had since around the beginning of the year. It shows exactly what both parties typed. It shows the phone number of the other person. It shows the "date" but instead of the date there is a long number there. One phone number kept showing up each time there was a text so I Googled it. It came up as a number that a company called SpyTox in Atlanta owns. I live in Georgia BTW. So I know this is not good. I need advice on what to do. What should I do first? This is crazy. I also found a lot of other files too that looked strange. Oh yeah and there was a file that logged all my phone calls too. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
First, what's your goal? To determine if you've been spied on? To stop any spying if it's happening? or to discover who might be spying on you?

I do know that a file called sms.xml is the default name for text backups. If you have a text backup routine, you might just be seeing this file as it's updated.
 
No, but "spytox" claims to be a database of personal information by reverse lookup. Whatever is collecting your personal data might be part of an app or service that you (or your carrier) installed. I too find it a bit disturbing that this is happening.

First you need to secure your Google account, to make sure someone isn't pushing these apps out to your device. Change your password to something complex. Then check connected devices at https://myaccount.google.com/device-activity and remove any you don't recognize. You should also enable enhanced security features like two-factor authentication.

Now, back up your data off the phone to a local storage device (ie. PC or Laptop, or a thumb drive) at this point I wouldn't recommend a cloud backup as that may be the primary intrusion vector. Then verify your data is truly backed up.

To reset your phone, first remove all accounts from the device, including the primary Google account. This will remove your current security and allow the phone to be reset without FRP (factory reset protection) Now you can safely perform the factory reset. Do it twice, with a phone reboot in between.

Log back in using your primary Google account, but when it asks you if you want to restore apps and settings, answer NO. You will have to restore your apps from the play store, but pay close attention to the permissions each is asking for. Then, restore your data from the local backup. Finally do not get any apps (at least right away) from anywhere but the play store.

Let us know how you make out.
 
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