Fraud using the telephone is nothing new; it's probably been around as long as there have been telephones. After all, a telephone is merely a communication device and can be used to dupe someone into doing something they shouldn't have.
Saying that, telephone technology, which has grown rapidly in recent years, has given fraudsters a wide array of new tools to use to depart common people and even large businesses from their hard-earned money.
Take caller ID for instance, which is marketed as a means of protecting our privacy. When I say marketed, it's normally sold for a fee so we can see who is calling us. The irony of the situation is that for a fee, just about anyone can make the caller ID appear to whatever number they desire.
The ability to spoof (fake/impersonate) caller ID has been around for a few years. Collection agencies, private investigators and even law enforcement agencies use it to get people to answer their telephone. In these instances, they are normally paying the telecom company for the service. I guess this means the people selling caller ID and the ability to spoof it are making money on both sides of the fence.
While some might argue the semi-legitimate (?) uses are deceptive in themselves, I'm far more concerned when criminals or malicious beings use it to further one of their schemes.
For instance, caller ID spoofing has been used to dispatch a SWAT team to an unsuspecting person's house, and a Pennsylvania man made obscene phone calls to women and made the caller ID appear as if they were coming from within the house. It has also subjected a lot of people to abusive return phone calls when their number was spoofed and angry consumers wanted to complain.
Of even greater concern is when caller ID spoofing is used by "stalkers." In January, Alexis A. Moore did a very well researched post on her blog about this subject. Moore is a "crime victim advocate and expert in cyber stalking, identity theft, traditional stalking, domestic violence and privacy protection," according to her profile on Blogspot.
Before I move forward, please note that it seems to have worked on a 911 dispatch system. In this case, law enforcement – who is known to spoof their numbers – is being victimized by the same technology they use to cloak calls themselves. Please note that if anyone should be able to legally spoof calls, it’s probably law enforcement. Nonetheless, it is ironic.
Article comments
1 - Alexis A Moore
Trust Caller ID become a victim is a great awareness piece of the misuse of caller id spoof today. Please join Alexis A. Moore and Survivors In Action and support the passage of the "Truth in Caller Id Act" this legislation will help ensure that "No Victim is Left Behind.
2 - Elvira Black
Great piece...what a relief. This kind of thing can be so bizarre that trying to describe it to someone can make you sound like a paranoid nutjob.
One robocall re: car insurance "expiration" was so ubiquitous in NYC that I believe they passed a bill against it when a local legislator became a victim of it himself.
But without going into detail, I have experienced the nightmarish "twilight zone" engendered by this kind of fraud and it can be both insidious and exceedingly hard to remedy. AFter awhile one begins to wonder who one is really speaking to when one tries to complain to "customer service" or the "fraud department," since I've personally had a great deal of trouble with both...
Thanks so much for this piece...will check out the links as well.