I have a simple flip-phone–an “Alcatel onetouch 3G”–that I use for voice conversation only, no apps or other misc stuff. I add time every 3-months w/TracFone.
Is it safe/secure to use this phone for telephone banking? I’m not clear about encryption etc. Is a landline phone safer than this cell phone?
Info appreciated–
Yes.
Nobody is going to eavesdrop on your calls.
A digital phone (which all cellphones nowadays are) would be more secure than an analog one (which I think is still typical for landlines). With an analog, you just need to tap the line to eavesdrop. With digital, you need to do that, and also crack the encryption.
The phone is transmitting over radio, so you would not need to tap anything, just have an appropriately placed antenna. You would still need to crack the encryption (NB 3G encryption is not particularly secure). Or you could tap into the base station. Or bug his or her house. But, what is the threat here? That some signals intelligence pro deploy expensive resources to overhear his calls and find out his bank balance or PIN number?
Your main security defense is not being interesting enough to surveil.