Attaching multiple phone lines to a single mobile or landline phone

Abstract

Agencies issue multiple devices to personnel for maintaining distinct identities over the course of assigned investigations. To provide flexible capabilities to agencies, a phone is converted for use with multiple attached telephone numbers. Accordingly, a single phone may be used to manage multiple identities over the course of one or more investigations. Using a multiple attached number, a given device can place and receive calls over the network to and from contacts. In addition to providing multiple attached numbers, calls using the multiple attached numbers may be monitored live and recorded to establish evidence.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer based method comprising:
 receiving a first message transmitted from a first telephonic device to a virtual number on a message service, the first message including sender information comprising a transmitting number corresponding to the first telephonic device, recipient information comprising the virtual number, and message content; 
 identifying the first telephonic device as a first contact device; 
 responsive to identifying the first telephonic device as the first contact device, attaching the sender information to the message content of the first message; 
 identifying an operator device associated with the virtual number in a mapping table; 
 providing the message content of the first message with the attached sender information to the operator device; 
 receiving a second message transmitted from a second telephonic device to the virtual number on the message service, the second message including sender information comprising a transmitting number corresponding to the second telephonic device, recipient information comprising the virtual number, and message content; 
 identifying the second telephonic device as the operator device; 
 responsive to identifying the second telephonic device as the operator device, extracting, from the message content of the second message, attached information including a transmitting number corresponding to a second contact device; and 
 transmitting instructions for providing the message content of the second message without the attached information to the second contact device from the virtual number in a third message transmitted on the message service. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the first telephonic device as the first contact device comprises analyzing a formatting of the message content of the first message, the formatting of the first message indicating the first message is an inbound message to the operator device from the first contact device. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein analyzing the formatting of the message content of the first message comprises parsing the first message to identify at least one of appended and prepended information attached to the message content, the inbound message lacking appended and prepended information attached to the message content. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the message content of the first message with the sender information to the operator device comprises transmitting instructions to a provider for providing the message content of the first message with the attached sender information to the operator device from the virtual number in a message transmitted to the operator device on the message service. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the message transmitted to the operator device on the message service for proving the message content of the first message to the operator device includes sender information comprising the virtual number, recipient information comprising a transmitting number of the operator device, and the message content of the first message with the attached sender information. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the first message transmitted from the first telephonic device to the virtual number is received from the provider. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message service is a short message service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS). 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first message and the second message are received from a provider, and the instructions for providing the message content of the second message without the attached information to the second contact device are transmitted to the provider. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the third message transmitted on the message service includes sender information comprising the virtual number, recipient information comprising the transmitting number of the second contact device, and the message content of the second message without the attached information. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first contact device and the second contact device are a same telephonic device, the transmitting number of the first telephonic device matching the transmitting number of the second contact device. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the second telephonic device as the operator device comprises analyzing a formatting of the message content of the second message, the formatting of the second message indicating the second message is an outbound message from the operator device to the second contact device. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein analyzing the formatting of the message content of the second message comprises parsing the second message to identify at least one of appended and prepended information attached to the message content of the second message, the outbound message including at least one of the appended and prepended information attaching the transmitting number corresponding to the second contact device. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a module to the operator device for interfacing with features of the operator device and performing:
 a step for obtaining information corresponding to the second contact device and the virtual number mapped to the operator device; and 
 a step for attaching the information corresponding to the contact device to the second message transmitted to the virtual number. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the information corresponding to the second contact device attached to the second message transmitted to the virtual number is appended or prepended to the message content of the second message. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the first telephonic device as the first contact device comprises comparing the sender information of the first message with an authorized transmitting number of the operator device stored in association with the virtual number in the mapping table, the first telephonic device identified as the contact device based on a lack of a match between the transmitting number of the first telephonic device and the authorized transmitting number of the operator device. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the second telephonic device as the operator device comprises comparing the sender information of the second message with an authorized transmitting number of the operator device stored in association with the virtual number in the mapping table, the second telephonic device identified as the operator device based on a match between the transmitting number of the second telephonic device and the authorized transmitting number of the operator device. 
     
     
       17. A computer based method comprising
 receiving a first message transmitted from a first telephonic device to a virtual number on a message service, the first message including sender information comprising a transmitting number corresponding to the telephonic device, recipient information comprising the virtual number, and message content; 
 identifying the first telephonic device as an operator device; 
 responsive to identifying the first telephonic device as the operator device, extracting, from the message content of the first message, attached information including a transmitting number corresponding to a contact device; 
 transmitting instructions for providing the message content of the first message without the attached information to the contact device from the virtual number in a second message transmitted on the message service; 
 receiving a third message transmitted from a second telephonic device to the virtual number on the message service, the third message including sender information comprising a transmitting number corresponding to the second telephonic device, recipient information comprising the virtual number, and message content; 
 identifying the second telephonic device as the contact device; 
 responsive to identifying the second telephonic device as the contact device, attaching the sender information of the third message to the message content of the third message; 
 identifying the operator device associated with the virtual number in the mapping table; and 
 providing the message content of the third message with the attached sender information to the operator device. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the second message transmitted on the message service includes sender information comprising the virtual number, recipient information comprising the transmitting number of the contact device, and the message content of the first message without the attached information. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 17 , wherein identifying the first telephonic device as the operator device comprises analyzing a formatting of the message content of the first message, the formatting of the first message indicating the first message is an outbound message from the operator device to the contact device. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , wherein analyzing the formatting of the message content of the first message comprises parsing the first message to identify at least one of appended and prepended information attached to the message content of the first message, the outbound message including at least one of the appended and prepended information attaching the transmitting number corresponding to the contact device. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising providing a module to the operator device for interfacing with features of the operator device and performing:
 a step for obtaining information corresponding to the contact device and the virtual number mapped to the operator device; and 
 a step for attaching the information corresponding to the contact device to the first message transmitted to the virtual number. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the message service is a short message service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS). 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the message content of the third message with the sender information to the operator device comprises transmitting instructions to a provider for providing the message content of the third message with the attached sender information to the operator device from the virtual number in a fourth message transmitted on the message service. 
     
     
       24. A system comprising:
 a server comprising one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program code, the computer program code when executed performing steps comprising:
 receiving a first message transmitted from a first telephonic device to a virtual number on a message service, the first message including sender information comprising a transmitting number corresponding to the first telephonic device, recipient information comprising the virtual number, and message content; 
 identifying the first telephonic device as a first contact device; 
 responsive to identifying the first telephonic device as the first contact device, attaching the sender information to the message content of the first message; 
 identifying an operator device associated with the virtual number in a mapping table; 
 providing the message content of the first message with the attached sender information to the operator device; 
 receiving a second message transmitted from a second telephonic device to the virtual number on the message service, the second message including sender information comprising a transmitting number corresponding to the second telephonic device, recipient information comprising the virtual number, and message content; 
 identifying the second telephonic device as the operator device; 
 responsive to identifying the second telephonic device as the operator device, extracting, from the message content of the second message, attached information including a transmitting number corresponding to a second contact device; and 
 transmitting instructions for providing the message content of the second message without the attached information to the second contact device from the virtual number in a third message transmitted on the message service. 
 
 
     
     
       25. The system of  claim 24 , wherein the first contact device and the second contact device are a same telephonic device, the transmitting number of the first telephonic device matching the transmitting number of the second contact device. 
     
     
       26. The system of  claim 24 , wherein the message service is a short message service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS).