I use Google Voice along with other apps on Android (like GrooVe IP) and Windows 8 to
leverage the VoIP features that Google offers. One of the most valuable features is how easy Google Voice makes it to give out a
single number that can be programmed to forward voice calls to multiple
different numbers. This can free you from the need to pay porting charges and
allows you to configure your Google Voice number to ring incoming calls to
other locations. With many contacts and friends in Sacramento, I
keep my Google Voice number so that my friends in California will be sure to reach me, regardless of what phone I currently carry and what area code it is assigned.

My first indication of the potential trouble came when I was
reviewing phones for TechRepublic. I’m normally paranoid about demo phones, but in order to review a mobile device accurately, you’ve got to
use the way you normally would. This means taking the device with you when you walk
out the door. After a very hectic prior day, I woke up and could not find the
demo device I was reviewing. I dialed the number in a panic, hoping to hear it
ringing. I walked around the rooms listening for it, letting it ring, and was
shocked to hear a voice answer. The person on the other end seemed
unintelligible and disoriented. Figuring I must have misdialed and woken a complete stranger,
I quickly hung up.

Later, I confirmed the number I had dialed was correct. When I
realized they matched, it dawned on me that I had called the person who had physical
access to the phone.

I called back and the same person answered. This time she was
coherent and upset about being called at 4:00 AM. Confused, I explained that I
reviewed mobile devices for an online technology blog. I had misplaced a
demo device I was trying to track down, and I didn’t understand why
dialing that device was ringing her home. Surprised, she said that she was also
a technology blogger, but she couldn’t see any other connection. She was still
relatively upset about being disturbed.

 It was only later that I
realized she must be forwarding her devices through a service like Google
Voice to ring to her home. I considered calling her back to explain, but I
figured after enough 4:00 AM wakeup calls from other bloggers, she would put it
together herself.

Months passed, and the story slipped my mind until
recently. A friend sent me a series of texts involving an elaborate prank that
culminated with an inappropriate picture. The image never arrived in my inbox
though. Instead, I received two delayed and cryptic responses. The first, “Ha
ha… hook line and sinker… u can use the joke;” and the second, “note taken…
number deleted.”

Following up with the sender revealed that after he sent the picture, he
received a response never to text to that number again or that I would call the
police. The only problem was, I never sent that response. My friend had deleted
my contact information and de-friended me on Facebook by the time I responded,
certain that he had offended me.

Unfortunately, I was on the road at the time and had limited
resources to figure out what was going on. It took me a while to realize that my
friend was sending texts to my Google number, and that was what any response
was listed as originating from. My texts were going to him, but his texts were
going to me and someone else. In addition, when that other person responded,
their texts only went to him. Neither the mysterious third party nor I
ever saw the other side of the conversation, leading to a very disjointed
exchange.

Here’s what happened. Recently, I activated an old Droid X on an inexpensive pre-paid
regional carrier. These carriers have smaller pools of phone numbers and a high
turnover rate. When I settled in Arizona, I activated a Droid DNA on Verizon and allowed the regional number to lapse. The number was quickly put back into
the available pool, and someone in NE Ohio selected it as their new one.
Unfortunately, I had enabled Google Voice number forwarding to make my transient
number transparent. Worse, I had forgotten to disable the number when I
switched. All of my voicemail, texts, and even phone calls were still ringing
through to that old number, which was now the number of an underage girl’s
phone. Worse yet, her irate father was threatening to call the police on my
friend over a very unfortunate misunderstanding.

As soon as I was back at a PC and could fix the issue, I did. I
also sent a very apologetic text to the actual number, explaining the situation
and assuring the recipient that the issue was fixed.

I’m troubled that the person on the other
end had access to all of my texts, voicemail, and incoming calls
and never followed up with senders until offended. It speaks to the basic
insecurity of text messaging and why it’s really unsuitable for sending
sensitive data. I know how to manage these features, and it simply slipped my
mind. Google’s ubiquitous services make it easy for BYOD employees to enable solutions like these without notifying IT, so these services are a legitimate threat.

Although the experience was embarrassing and unfortunate, I thought it worth
sharing to help other IT professionals put this on their radar as a potential
liability in keeping their confidential company data secure.