I must admit when I first found out about the Spoofcard I was curious. I couldn't believe that this type of technology is avaliable to the general puplic, so I had to give it a try! I purchased something like 60 credits which is equal to an hour, for under 15 bucks. Once I purchased the card, a pin number is provided to access your time. Now I used this to play a joke on my mother, she's a good sport when it comes to pranks. This is how it works, I dialed the toll free number and entered my pin, then it asks for the phone number you are calling, then I was able to put in what number I wanted to show up on her caller ID, like the hospital or the lotteries phone number. Spoofcard has even made it possible to disguise your voice, and include background noise which is pretty cool. I made sure to record the call to my mom, so we could have a laugh later. Which we did! If this card is used for entertainment purposes, I feel it can be fun. BUT I can see this being used in so many negative ways that I'm surprised it's still on the market. Americans already have enough to worry about regarding scams and identity theft, and this could be a tool used for those purposes. I had a friend who used the Spoofcard to cheat on her husband. She would say she was still at work or out with friends when she wasn't. All she had to do was put her work number in as the number to be displayed and nobody would ever guess she wasn't at work. The Spoofcard has its pros and cons, if used as intended it can be a fun way to play a joke on a friend. But there's too many sneaky bad ways this card can be used for so I have mixed feelings about it. The Spoofcard does what it is intended to do, and that's the bottom line.

AprilTolley

USA

In [Untraceable][1] , a movie starring Diane Lane, as a Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crimes Division Investigator and single parent who with her team of investigators is attempting to catch a killer.  The killer avoids detection through the use of an untraceable website and telephone calls to the FBI using technology known as "***SpoofCard***."  As the FBI team closes in all the killer through a series of traced phone calls they enter a home, guns drawn to find a normal family home, who just had federal agents bust down their door with guns drawn. Could this be true?  Is there really a software out there that can hide the CallerID, that can change our voice and can even record a message to be called out at a later time?  Yes, there is! It is called ***SpoofCard***. It is a "spoofing" service which allows a caller to disguise the telephone number calling from, identifying information and even the voice and gender of the caller.  Callers may even record a message, to access at a later time, from any phone, to be connected to and played to the receiver.  How does ***SpoofCard ***work? You create an account, like those used for long distance calling cards.  You purchase minutes much like a calling card or prepaid cell phone service.  Prices range from $10.00 for 60 minutes to $80.00 for 480 minutes. Purchases may only be made with a credit card. Purchases may be made through the SpoofCard website or affiliates. With your purchase of minutes, you obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access your account. Just like calling into your voice mail service, you call the telephone number provided by SpoofCard, then dial the number you wish to call. You also type in the number and name you wish to appear on the receiving caller ID; and then are offered the options of changing your voice, changing the voice gender and recording a message or making the call direct. You may also record your calls as they occur. **The Good ** Many claim there are valid, fun, personal and professional reasons for using a "spoofing"  service.  Some claim that it is a form of entertainment. Harmless pranks, like the Domestic Diva who pranked her husband at work calling about a pornographic video that needed returned to the video store and was overdue.  Teens can add a whole new level of expertise to their phone pranks, by typing in a name, number or even changing their voice or gender. Another feature of SpoofCard, that many claim to be useful is the ability to create your own unique number to be identified by. For example it takes distinctive ring tones one step further.  Your nickname may appear on the caller ID as well as your favorite number, identifying you as the caller in a unique way. Businesses such as doctor's offices may find it useful, instead of calling patients back and having their cell or home phone number appear on the caller ID (leaving them open to potential direct calls from patients who store this information) doctors can program the system to have their office name and telephone number appear on the caller ID, when returning patients emergency or after hours calls. It could also be useful in the case of estranged or divorced parents, who wish to contact their children and the other parent is interfering with the communication.  **The Bad ** In some cases, you may be tricked into answer calls from people you may wish to avoid. Say you have had a bad relationship break up and are trying to avoid your "ex."  They can still call you, tricking you into answering your phone by using a different name and number to appear on your CallerID. Pranks can go too far, such as the one shown in an interview with Paul Zahn. A call was made, threatening a teen and it appeared to be from within her own home. Frightened, she called 911, to find out it was a prank by friends using the ***SpoofCard*** system. Not only did it frighten this family but caused wasted hours of investigation that could have been spent on legitimate crimes. What about the extra charge millions of phone users pay for the CallerID service? With ***SpoofCard,*** they can no longer trust that information, and it is money wasted.  **The Ugly** In 2006 ***Spoofcard***terminated over 50 customer accounts after discovering that they were being used to access voicemail boxes, that did not belong to the customers. The CallerID feature is used to trick the home phone into thinking that it is being called, and it goes straight into voicemail. This can also happen on cell phones. Some people, trusting that their phone does not need a password, do not enter one leaving their phones open to attack. Maybe that's not so bad. . . after all you may be able to find out about affairs or other indiscretions but the ugliness doesn't stop there. Identity theft may easily occur using this system. For example, you answer a call which your CallerID indicates if from a government agency, law enforcement official or credit lender. You are asked questions, and believing this to be a legitimate attempt to obtain information, you follow the instructions and provide your  personal and financial information, now leaving yourself open to credit card fraud and identity theft.   It may also be used to protect stalkers. With this system stalkers can disguise their voice and telephone number making it difficult if not impossible to be tracked except possibly by a government agency. **Is SpoofCard legal?** Yes, it is. After Congressional hearings, it was decided that SpoofCard does provide a valuable business service and protects them with a certain level of privacy.  There are certain stipulations such as the service is illegal only if used to:  deceive or attempt fraud or theft as a result of the call. In some cases, the recorded calls may or may not be admissible in court. **Technical Support** Technical support is available through the use of a forum as well as frequently asked questions.  ***My Viewpoint:***   There are far too many opportunities for harm, with a service like SpoofCard, as opposed to the opportunities to do good.  While I appreciate the need for doctors, lawyers and other professionals who need to maintain their privacy to be interested in this service, in general  the thought of SpoofCard frightens me.  The ability to trick people into believing a killer is stalking them in their home in the name of a prank, the ability to stalk someone, or bother someone from a previous relationship are all to scary for me to consider using this service.  After doing more research and reading how others have been using the service (visits to over 30 blogs) it seems there are far too many people using it for questionable, illegal and illegitimate purposes. In many cases, these users seem seem almost proud of the their ability to easily get information using this service. Are all of them telling the truth about their illegitimate uses of SpoofCard?  Probably not, but would believe that many are. With this being one of the latest in technological services available, you will have to be the judge if it is a product for you.  I would recommend in the future that you carefully screen your calls,  Do not provide personal or financial information over the phone, ask that they notify you by mail. Place passwords or PIN's on your voice mail service.  By exercising caution you can try to protect yourself and your information from identity and credit card theft. I would advocate that SpoofCard verify the need for this service prior to its purchase, such as employment verication to determine that it is truly being used for business purposes and to protect business professionals.   *I would have to say that I would recommend this to a friend, who really needed it, to my real estate agent, to my lawyer, to my doctor.  The product is inexpensive and provides a valuable service. It's just too bad that it can be used for good as well as bad. So, you decide, which is greater? The Good, The Bad or The Ugly of SpoofCard. * [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Untraceable-reviews

LisaCarey

Houston, TX