(This is the second posting in a series about safety in this digital age. Click here to read the first article in the series.)

TrapCall is another prepaid phone card from the makers of SpoofCard.  TrapCall cards are designed to unblock and reveal callers’ identities and numbers even if an individual blocked his or her number using *67 or paid the phone company for an unlisted number.

Some TrapCall features allow the user’s phone to show the caller’s full name, phone number, and billing address. TrapCall also has features that can send a transcription of a caller’s voicemail as an SMS message (short message service, or text message) to the abuser’s phone so the abuser captures the caller’s blocked information without the caller’s knowledge.   This technology can record all incoming calls and retrieve online conversations as well as block an unwanted call with a “disconnected” message.

Similar Caller ID technology was utilized in the 1995 murder of twenty-one year old Kerisha Harps.   Ms. Harps phoned a friend’s house not knowing that her ex-boyfriend was at the friend’s home looking for her.  When the ex-boyfriend saw the phone number and the location Ms. Harps was calling from, the ex-boyfriend used the information to locate and murder Ms. Harps.

Despite stories like this, TrapCall’s manufacturer insists that the technology was created to help protect domestic abuse victims identify harassers trying to call them as well as provide them with the ability to record the abuser’s message and conversation.  The company further defends its product by pointing out that abuse victims can counteract TrapCall’s features if they purchase a SpoofCard.  SpoofCards are made by the same manufacturer as TrapCall cards, and SpoofCards can display a false number if the abuse victim wants to hide their real number if he or she has to call the abuser so the abuser cannot identify his or her location or real phone number.  In situations involving child custody and constant contact between estranged parents, if this technology is used by an abusive parent, cell phone communication becomes unreliable and potentially unsafe for the other parent and children.

The development of new technology is moving so rapidly that only those in the technology world can keep up with all the new gadgets and software.  While it is hard for the average person, as well as attorneys, experts and judges to keep abreast of new developments, all need to recognize that technology exists that gathers intelligence about others while the “gatherer” sits at his desk.  Thus, before one assumes a client is overly paranoid claiming others are spying on her, recognize that her paranoia may be real, and recommend hiring a technology expert to uncover whether the client’s privacy was illegally invaded or information illegally gathered about the client.

Watch for the next article in the series: Cell Phone Surveillance and GPS: How to Protect Your Privacy and Safety

[1] TrapCall Features, http://www.trapcall.com/features (last visited Dec. 9, 2009).

[1] TrapCall Frequently Asked Questions, http://www.trapcall.com/learnmore (last visited Nov. 9, 2009).

[1] TrapCall was not created until 2009. Caller ID was used in this instance.

[1] Emily Friedman, TrapCall Unblocks Caller ID, Exposes Number, http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/Story?id=6899472&page=1 (last visited Nov. 12, 2009);

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