Calls From a Stranger, No More

Well, at least it will now be illegal. Last week, the House passed H.R. 5126, The Truth in Caller I.D. Act, outlawing misrepresenting one’s identity on caller ID, colloquially known as “caller ID spoofing.”

The speaker of the house, J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), praised the bill’s passage, saying, “Criminals can make their scams seem more real if they cause the number that shows up in your home to appear as the same as a legitimate business or charity…Consumers use Caller ID services to protect themselves from unwanted calls and scams; the passage of this bill would ensure that they will be able to do so.”

This means that now there actually is a federal law to prosecute those Spanish scamming telemarketers we talked so much about. Either that, or victims will start seeing a lot of “Jose elDouchebaggez” on their caller ID’s.

Previously: Calls From a Stranger thread.

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