A cellphone hacking scandal has landed a Pretoria attorney in trouble, after two Cape Town residents complained that he revealed confidential information illegally obtained from a spy programme planted in a BlackBerry cellphone handset.
The spy programme, Flexi-spy, can be downloaded from the internet for a few dollars. It allows a hacker to listen in on real-time conversations on a targeted cellphone, as well as to view SMSes, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) conversations and e-mails, according to court documents.
Attorney Selwyn Shapiro had been reported to the Law Society of the Northern Provinces for bringing the name of the attorneys’ profession into disrepute by using the hacked information in a divorce case, the two complainants said.
This comes after Shapiro’s male client in a divorce case was criminally charged last year with hacking into his wife’s cellphone.
The Law Society of the Northern Provinces has confirmed it is investigating the complaint against Shapiro.
The society’s legal official, W Wolmarans, said they had received the complaint and were communicating directly with the two complainants. The complainants allege that Shapiro revealed the hacked information in court papers that are part of divorce proceedings. The divorce case will be heard in August in the North Gauteng High Court.
The couple may not be named as it is illegal for the media to report on divorces.
More here:
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/lawyer-client-in-trouble-over-phone-spying-1.1295355?showComments=true
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