things that are powered off / not turned on can not record you
Originally Posted by Roothead
That's actually not quite true. People can turn on your computer remotely.
There is a VERY creepy tale from a few years ago. It all happened in a small cul de sac neighborhood. A teenage girl started getting harassing messages and calls. She turned her phone off. In the middle of the night her cell phone started "ringing" except the ringtone changed to a voice saying "why aren't you answering".
It eventually spread to her dad, her mom, and event he neighbors. Their phones would call each other, text each other, and send pictures to each other seemingly on their own. Eventually her dad was receiving messages asking him rather specific questions about his current location.
As it turns out most cell phones have simple diagnostic program. If it's on a computer and they know your cell number they can make your phone do ANYTHING it was designed to do, except remotely from their computer. They can view your GPS location, look through the camera, send texts/calls, download stuff onto your phone, ect.
Some of the diagnostic programs have unfortunately made their way onto the internet. They are still pretty rare and complicated though.