Semi-legitimate programs called Mobile Spy from Retina-X Studios  and FlexiSpy from Vervata run invisibly, upload text messages and phone logs to an online server. They can also upload your location information.

Mobil Spy and FlexiSpy both offer versions for Nokia phones, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile and iPhones. A Pro version of FlexiSpy includes iPhone enabling eaves- dropping through cell phone microphones when you call a dedicated phone number. A future Pro-X version will let you listen in on calls in progress.

Distinctly unsettling to know your phone can clype on you, intercept your calls, tap and listen to your conversations, read your SMS, email and calls record log, track you GPS location and even turn on your microphone by remote control and get to  your pictures.  Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian are all acceptable.

The light version software will read SMS, email and call logs for the cost of €100 software, and top of the range spyphone software is a mere €250. According to research, most of the snoopware attacks interestingly have taken place in Europe and Asia, but are now starting to spread to the US.

Experts appear to agree that spyware is most often being used in stalking situations, domestic cases and to steal someone’s identity. The estimate is more than 400 different types of snoopware (most  variants of a few major snoopware programs), and that figure may top 1,000 by the end of 2009.

Quite how do you tell if spyware is on your phone? It appears that sp,etime physical access to the phone is necessary for installation, so the first defence is treat your mobile like a credit card. Don't lend it out and keep your access code for emails to yourself.

But tell-tale signs could be a battery draining faster than normal, spikes in usage bills or a screen flash once in a while. The other advice is not to leave Bluetooth open and beware of clicking on bogus security updates, or other email/text attachments and be careful with application downloads.

Once you've been infiltrated, the best route is to go to your service provider, who will help by changing your number (how convenient is that?). But in a worse case scenario according to Gaberlunzie's informant, you may have to change your provider (which may cost you.) The alternative is to abandon your smart phone and revert to the simple varieties avoiding Java, Bluetooth and cameras.

Time for the smart phone providers to build in alerts and defences.