Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers | August 25, 2026 | Criminal Defense
Hacking someone’s phone in Texas can trigger serious state and federal charges, and those charges often come with heavy penalties.
These cases often revolve around technical digital evidence and legal issues like consent and how information was collected, so it’s important to work with a legal professional if you’re facing these charges, so they can investigate the case appropriately.
What Counts as Hacking Someone’s Phone?
Hacking someone’s phone does not require fancy technology or hacking software. Any unauthorized effort to get into a device, account, or cloud data can be treated as hacking.
That includes obvious things like guessing or stealing a passcode, and less obvious things like installing monitoring apps, using someone else’s login, or pulling data from a cloud backup without permission.
Whether a particular act is criminal depends on the context and whether the owner authorized the access or not.
What Is Breach of Computer Security in Texas?
Texas Penal Code section 33.02 makes it a crime to knowingly access a computer, computer system, or computer network without the owner’s consent; this is the statute that hacking a person’s phone would generally be prosecuted under. Under this law, “access” is broad enough to include smartphones and cloud-based accounts.
Prosecutors must generally show two things. First, that the defendant knowingly accessed a computer, computer network, or computer system, and second, that the access was without effective consent from the owner. You do not have to steal money or delete files to violate the statute.
Simply getting into someone’s device or account without permission can be enough. The offense becomes more serious when the access is done with the intent to defraud, harm someone, or alter, damage, or delete property.
What Are the Penalties for Hacking a Phone in Texas?
There is no single phone hacking penalty in Texas. A basic unauthorized access case can be charged as a Class B misdemeanor, carrying up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
The conduct can be charged as a felony in certain situations. For example, an unauthorized access offense can be a state jail felony if the defendant has at least two prior convictions under Texas computer crime laws, or the computer, network, or system belongs to the government or a critical infrastructure facility.
Felony convictions bring much harsher prison terms and larger fines.
Can Reading Someone Else’s Text Messages Be Illegal?
Reading someone else’s text messages can be illegal, especially when you do this by accessing their device or account without permission. Whether it’s a crime depends on how the messages were obtained and what you did with them once you had access.
Accessing Stored Communications
Texas Penal Code § 16.04 addresses unauthorized access to stored electronic communications. It can apply when someone intentionally accesses, without authorization or by exceeding their authorization, a facility through which an electronic communications service is provided and obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access to a communication stored there.
Whether the law applies depends on where and how the communications were stored and accessed.
Interception
Texas Penal Code § 16.02 covers unlawful interception. That applies to secretly capturing messages while they are being transmitted, or using intercepted content. Interception offenses can be more serious because they involve eavesdropping on communications as they happen, not just looking at stored data.
Which statute applies depends on the facts. Reading stored messages without permission may violate laws governing unauthorized access or stored communications. Capturing messages while they are being transmitted may violate Texas interception laws and could also trigger federal law.
Call Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers To Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Fort Worth Criminal Defense Attorney
Allegations of phone hacking in Texas are complex and can lead to criminal penalties, civil exposure, and long-term consequences if not handled correctly. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can review evidence and build a defense based on the facts of the case. The earlier you reach out, the earlier we can help.
Call Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers today at (682) 777-3336 to schedule a confidential consultation with an experienced Fort Worth criminal defense attorney.
