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First Caller-ID Spoofers Punished 156

coondoggie plugs a NetworkWorld story that begins, "The first telemarketers charged with transmitting false Caller IDs ... to consumers were fined and barred from continuing their schemes by a New Jersey District Court judge.... [T]wo individuals and one corporate defendant have been barred from violating the agency's Telemarketing Sales Rule and its Do Not Call requirements ... They were also found liable for $530,000 in damages ... [T]he case was the first brought by the Commission alleging the transmission of phony caller ID information or none at all."
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First Caller-ID Spoofers Punished

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  • by dotancohen ( 1015143 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @07:16AM (#23322524) Homepage
    I hope that this set precedent for spammers.

    http://what-is-what.com/what_is/spam.html [what-is-what.com]
    • by PReDiToR ( 687141 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @09:09AM (#23323462) Homepage Journal
      Play the fools at their own game.

      Print one of these out and keep it by the phone:
      Anti-Telemarketing Script [xs4all.nl]
      Anti-Telemarketing Script [ucan.org]
      Anti-Telemarketing Script [junkbusters.com]
      • by LandDolphin ( 1202876 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @10:08AM (#23324090)
        As a former Telemarketer, I love the EGBG script... (now that is)...

        The things Telemarketers hate most is wasting their time. What is probably more mean, is to pretend to be interested and ask ton's of questions about whatever they are selling. Go along and act like your going ot buy everything they have to sell and then right at the end say, "Nah, I changed my mind" and hang up...

        • Just hang up? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by northstarlarry ( 587987 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @12:29PM (#23326580)
          Sure, it's a hoot the first time or two around, but the thing that we hate about telemarketers is the distraction and waste of time that they represent, isn't it? When you start running through these scripts, dragging out the call instead of just hanging up, isn't that even more of a waste of your own time, taking you away from whatever interesting thing it was that you were doing?

          It seems to me that a simple hang-up is just as (not very) effective at stopping telemarketing as a phenomenon, and takes about 1/100th the time.

          I try to be considerate to other persons: let them merge in traffic, hold the door open, not stand in front of the shelf they want to look at, and so forth, but I'm not really inclined to martyr my own time so that someone somewhere won't get a call. That person can do the same as I: just hang up.

          • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

            by Anonymous Coward

            dragging out the call instead of just hanging up, isn't that even more of a waste of your own time

            But that's a choice we all get to make based on what we may or may not find amusing at any given moment. The telemarketer (and the company who pays them), on the other hand, doesn't have the luxury of deciding when timewasting is funny. Timewasting always costs them money, 100% of the time. It's never funny for them, which makes it even more funny for us.

            Who's to say that spending five minutes leading a telemarketer on a merry chase isn't just as valid a use of time as ... oh say reading slashdot for those

          • by sjames ( 1099 )

            Sure, it's a hoot the first time or two around, but the thing that we hate about telemarketers is the distraction and waste of time that they represent, isn't it? When you start running through these scripts, dragging out the call instead of just hanging up, isn't that even more of a waste of your own time, taking you away from whatever interesting thing it was that you were doing?

            I hate to have my time wasted for nothing. However, as long as it's entertaining, why not. I figure they chose to interrupt my day and take up my time. They owe me either entertainment or money. Since they aren't likely to fork over the cash, I'll extract it in entertainment value.

            OTOH, if I'm busy, I'll just hang up or not answer in the first place.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        The current pain for me is the "Your vehicle warranty has expired..." which is a recorded message and if you are interested you press 1 to get transfer to an telemarketing human.
        Pity more than half of my "telemarketing" calls are these pre-recorded message so I can't really truly counterscript them. Also they drop the line before I can get any information on them. I would like to send these people to Abu Ghraib or some other gulag.
        • What you need is an answering machine. Just screen. The message plays to the OGM and the tape doesn't get filled up with this nonsense.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by omeomi ( 675045 )
      I don't understand why this hasn't happened sooner. I've filled out that complaint form [donotcall.gov] on donotcall.gov a number of times since it's inception when I get a call from some telemarketer for a company I've never dealt with. I always hoped that, even if my individual complaints weren't looked into, maybe they would aggregate complaints, and investigate the bigger offenders. Apparently they haven't really even been doing that...
      • by smooth wombat ( 796938 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @10:47AM (#23324598) Journal
        I always hoped that, even if my individual complaints weren't looked into, maybe they would aggregate complaints, and investigate the bigger offenders.


        Last year, out of the blue, I received an envelope from our Commonwealth's Attorney General. My first thought was, "Huh. They finally caught up to me. Took them long enough."

        I opened the envelope and inside was a letter and a check. The letter indicated that sometime back I had submitted a complaint to them about someone who had left repeated messages on my answering machine even though I was on the DNC list. After investigation, the company was fined and the check represented my portion of the settlement amount.

        The federal list might take longer but at least in my case, Pennsylvania does investigate marketers who do not observe the list and penalizes them.

        You're probably wondering about the check, aren't you? It was more than $10 but less than $100. Enough to fill up my tank a few times back when gas was less than $3/gallon.

        • by WK2 ( 1072560 )

          You're probably wondering about the check, aren't you? It was more than $10 but less than $100. Enough to fill up my tank a few times back when gas was less than $3/gallon.

          Comcast? Is that you?

      • by sconeu ( 64226 )
        Does anyone else get those autodialed "Hi. If you talk to a representative about $SALES_TOPIC, press 9"?

        Aren't they illegal?

        • by Intron ( 870560 )
          Not if they have a business relationship with you or they are calling from outside the country.

          I wonder if pressing "9" gives them any basis for claiming that you have agreed to the call? And if you don't press it, then you don't find out who its from.
    • I hope that this set precedent for spammers.

      I'm sorry [whips out pimp gloves and slaps you] these people had no issues with violating the law before, what makes you think that this makes any difference at all? Robbing banks is illegal, and more often than not results in significant time, but does that stop bank robbers? The truth it that casteration is the only real solution. Most of the "people" are typical "I got mine" males. Put the real threat of ball removal in the equasion, and you'll see all these gu

      • I'm sorry [whips out pimp gloves and slaps you] these people had no issues with violating the law before, what makes you think that this makes any difference at all?
        Accountability. Telemarketers are easier to track down and punish, so the law does. Now, when private individuals go after spammers (because the government is too pussy to do it) there will be more tangible precedent for punishment.
        • Telemarketers are easier to track down and punish, so the law does.
          Please cite a source for this nugget of wisdom.

          I'm sorry, but that's simply NOT TRUE. Phone boiler-rooms are just the same as spam servers - finding the actual source is not that easy. And, many are now "out-sourced" off-shore.

          So, no, telemarketers are NOT easier to track down.

          • aside from the fact that telemarketers can't hijack random people's phones or relay through unsecured servers.
            • aside from the fact that telemarketers can't hijack random people's phones or relay through unsecured servers.
              With VOIP I wonder if that's true? Anyway, they can manipulate caller ID...
              • i don't believe they can mess with *69 though. at least i haven't found any that have. lots of calls on my callerid from (123)456-7890, but *69 reveals the actual number (mostly niagara falls area numbers.)
                • i don't believe they can mess with *69 though.
                  It hardly matters if they are calling from Canada (where most of my phone spam comes from) or INDIA... Phone numbers are like IP addresses, you can always find a new one to spam from when the old one has been blacklisted, and only very rarely do the numbers lead back to the actual spammer.
            • aside from the fact that telemarketers can't hijack random people's phones or relay through unsecured servers.
              That is exactly what I meant.
  • and if you rtfa (Score:3, Informative)

    by way2trivial ( 601132 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @07:20AM (#23322548) Homepage Journal
    you find out they don't have it and are only paying 45,000 in fines..
    • Re:and if you rtfa (Score:5, Interesting)

      by spectrokid ( 660550 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @08:32AM (#23323122) Homepage
      My brother is a DA. Getting a conviction is less than 50% of his job. The majority of his time goes to finding out where the poor helpless bankrupt criminals have hidden their stash. (And he is really good at it ;-)
      • Not too surprising that the DA would pursue something that would generate income rather than paying money out. Sentencing people to jail costs the state/county money and generates zero income.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by wvmarle ( 1070040 )
      Also according to tfa the original fine is based on gross revenue. That means all income, before cost. Of course a fine has to be punitive, but gross revenue that of course no-one can pay. Many costs have to be deducted, starting of course with their telephone bills.
      Great to hear a telemarketer getting fined though. Irritating lifeforms.
  • Jesus Christ (Score:2, Insightful)

    Call me! No wait! Don't call me! *wink wink*

    That's a whole lot of money for getting called.

    You know who else should get slapped with a fine? Companies that hire telemarketers.
    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Gives us legitimate telemarketing companies a bad name.

      And yes there are those of us that don't believe that pi55ing off 1000 potential customers to get 1 low value sale is a good idea.

      Qualitative based projects where the communication itself can add value to the prospect is what works (this is somewhere between customer service and sales)in particular where the person has expressed an interest already and telemarketing is following up.
      • Re:Jesus Christ (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Hans Lehmann ( 571625 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @09:07AM (#23323434)
        Gives us legitimate telemarketing companies a bad name.

        There are *no* legitimate telemarketing companies. Nobody has ever asked you to call them on the telephone and try to sell them something; stop trying to pretend otherwise. If you call me with a sales pitch, regardless of what it is or who you represent, I'll want your head on a pike.

        • Re:Jesus Christ (Score:4, Insightful)

          by jjhall ( 555562 ) <slashdot@ma[ ]geeks.com ['il4' in gap]> on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @01:49PM (#23327880) Homepage
          There are legit telemarketing companies. I know of a couple who call people regarding renewals of their magazine subscriptions. They are calling their existing customers who have not yet renewed, offering a discounted renewal rate if they renew before their subscription runs out.

          I do believe you have a point that there are no legit cold-call telemarketing companies.
        • There are *no* legitimate telemarketing companies. Nobody has ever asked you to call them on the telephone and try to sell them something; stop trying to pretend otherwise. If you call me with a sales pitch, regardless of what it is or who you represent, I'll want your head on a pike.

          What a laugh!

          Sure, no one calls a telemarketer and asks them to call back - that logic fails when you are talking about an industry that thrives on cold calling.

          Let me share; I work for a company that sells its product through
          • Sure, no one calls a telemarketer and asks them to call back - that logic fails when you are talking about an industry that thrives on cold calling.

            I believe many of us would submit that if your industry thrives on cold calling, your industry is not legitimate.

            I guess you could say that the management is evil, they are the ones forcing this poor people into making these calls. But lets speak to your point made in your post; telemarketing simply works.

            So does extortion and panhandling, but we don't a

            • Then call them and stop calling me and those of us who don't want to be called. ...

              This argument falls flat when we continue to get telemarketing calls from companies who bypass the DNC list with loopholes.


              First point: Sign up on the list, problem solved. Otherwise, can't help ya.

              Second point: Don't lump us in with the criminals, you can't argue your logic against my points when you are using them as a go-between. It's like saying I'm a religious Jew who must defend myself against your view of Catholics...

              T
              • First point: Sign up on the list, problem solved. Otherwise, can't help ya.

                Already have. Problem most definitely not solved.

                Second point: Don't lump us in with the criminals, you can't argue your logic against my points when you are using them as a go-between.

                Sure I can. Like another poster mentioned, the effectiveness of your results does not excuse your methods. I used the example of criminals to illustrate that. If you'd prefer, I can compare you to the corrupt politician, who quite likely ge

          • The fact that your method gets results does not make it ethical or honorable. I could employ someone named Guido to come to your house and threaten to break your kneecaps if you didn't renew your magazine subscriptions. I'm sure my closing rate would then be very close to 100%. But guess what, I wouldn't do that because unlike all telemarketers, I'm not scum. Also, stop using the old excuse that you're trying to give some gainful employment to poor, down-trodden teenagers and retirees. That excuse does
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Dare nMc ( 468959 )

        Gives us legitimate telemarketing companies a bad name.
        Then get to complaining to the DMA, if you want any consumers to take any telemarketer serious then get them to stop defending the right to continue bad practices. And get them to start requesting laws, and enforcement to clean up the industry, instead of the opposite.
      • Re:Jesus Christ (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Raineer ( 1002750 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @09:59AM (#23323996)
        If I want your product, I'll go looking for it. This is the beauty of the internet age. I do not need to be called at home and be "sold" on something I did not ask for. If I called you, and you are returning my call, this is completely different.
      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by nstlgc ( 945418 )
        But still you despise yourself enough to post as AC :)
  • by Reality Master 201 ( 578873 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @07:21AM (#23322560) Journal
    When "hackers" get caught, it's not uncommon for the judge to ban them from using computers for a period of time. Ban the caller ID spoofers from using a telephone for a few years, either for business or personal use (with an emergency usage exception).

    • by hansraj ( 458504 ) * on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @07:59AM (#23322792)
      Not only I totally agree with your "same yardstick" principle, I also propose following natural application of it: "any guy caught urinating in public should not be allowed to use his penis ever again."
      • I think your comparison is eminently sensible - a natural biological function that needs to be performed in order to continue survival and the use of a device that only serves to make human communication more convenient are clearly closely parallel situations.
        • by hansraj ( 458504 ) *
          I did not compare telemarketing to urinating. I compared it to urinating in public. An offense mostly because of the inconvenience it causes to others and not because of any real damage. Of course one can argue that telemarketers waste the time you could have spent doing something other than taking a call you didn't want to, calling for them to be denied the us of a telephone forever extreme in my opinion (and hence the insane comparison).
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Schadrach ( 1042952 )
        You mean like being made to register as a sex offender, immediately causing everyone who hears such to assume you are a pedophile and/or rapist?
      • by mpe ( 36238 )
        Not only I totally agree with your "same yardstick" principle, I also propose following natural application of it: "any guy caught urinating in public should not be allowed to use his penis ever again."

        What would you propose to do with women caught urinating in public?
      • "any guy caught urinating in public should not be allowed to use his penis ever again."
        "any guy caught urinating in public should not be allowed to use his penis in public ever again."

        There, fixed that for you.
      • by WK2 ( 1072560 )
        Hey man, public urination is a basic human right.
    • When "hackers" use "cid spoofing" to "SWAT" people's houses, they deserve more than just a fine.

      Seriously, I have cid spoofed to play pranks on friends etc, and nobody cares. The crime is when you use the misinformation to take advantage of a system or group of people (especially when money is involved).
  • by AntEater ( 16627 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @07:42AM (#23322656) Homepage
    "...calling consumers on the National DNC Registry"

    Maybe someone can help me understand something here. Why would a company want to waste their resources marketing to people who have made an overt effort to opt-out? Do they really think that people will make a purchase if they could through?

    Personally, I've put my number on the "do not call list" and I wouldn't buy anything from a telemarketer purely as a matter of principle - I'd pay more elsewhere just to avoid encouraging this form of marketing. I've never met anyone who didn't feel similar about getting sales calls at home.
    • by CheeseTroll ( 696413 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @07:54AM (#23322750)
      In theory, that makes perfect sense. But in practice, there are enough people who, even though they don't like being called, still get talked into stuff over the phone. "No, I'm not interested. Wait, you said I could lower my mortgage payments by *how* much?"

      When the DNC lists went into effect, many telemarketers tried to spin it into a positive thing, saying that the gov't was actually helping them by cleansing their lists of the people who wouldn't buy anything anyway. It was cute, because the DNC lists really killed their old business models. Looks like the survivors out there are relying heavily on loopholes in the law and the relative lack of enforcement.
    • Why would a company want to waste their resources marketing to people who have made an overt effort to opt-out?
      Why does unsubscribing from V1A9R4 spam lists get you more spam?
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      Many people register for the DNC list precisely because they know they have difficulty refusing telephone sales pitches. Therefore, the DNC list may represent a list of people who are actually more likely than average to buy whatever a telemarketer is offering.
    • by codegen ( 103601 )
      If you read the article, you discover that they didn't get the list at all (you have to pay for access to the list, sort of like a telemarketers tax). Instead, they just set up the phones and started dialing randomly (while spoofing the return address).

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ClientNine ( 1261974 )

      "...calling consumers on the National DNC Registry" Maybe someone can help me understand something here. Why would a company want to waste their resources marketing to people who have made an overt effort to opt-out? Do they really think that people will make a purchase if they could through?

      I've worked in 2 telemarketing companies when I was a young lad-- degrading work, but indoors and no heavy lifting-- and I can tell you that the First Rule Of Spammers applies to them: They're dumb.

      As far as I could tell none of the floor managers had any interest whatsoever in making sales. They cared about other critical metrics such as minimizing bathroom breaks, total number of calls made, how many "objections" we "overcame" before disconnecting, script adherence, etc, but not about sales. I me

  • I never understood the direct marketer's devotion to marketing by force.

    If I'm on the Do Not Call list, why do you still want to call me? Even if there was no enforcement, I've registered because:

    1) I'm not buying your crap
    and
    2) Marketing calls annoy the hel out of me

    What possible benefit is there to your operatives calling me, getting an earful, wasting their time and spoiling my day?
    I mean, if you're spoofing the Caller ID, you know that I'm going to hang up on you if I guess who it is, at which point you
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )
      Easy: Stupidity once removed, i.e. some telemarketeer gets paid by the number of calls made where somebody was on the other side, not the number of sales. Personally I never buy products that telemarketers advertised ever again, but it seems not enough people handle it that way.
    • If I'm on the Do Not Call list, why do you still want to call me?

      Because the access to the list costs $$$$ Notice, they did not pay to access the registery. I don't know how much it cost to access the list, but it is a non-zero number.

      They were stupid in thinking there would be no repurcussions from calling a bunch of people on the list. This falls under the dumb crooks catagory. The more you call, the more your exposure.
  • Marketing (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ledow ( 319597 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @08:16AM (#23322940) Homepage
    To those people asking why you would want to call a "Do Not Call" list anyway...

    I know a few people who work in telesales and it's usually the stupid and draconian rules put on the employees by the company, despite there being no actual proof that they would improve sales. In fact, in some places where they listen to the employees, changes can be made to INCREASE sales by cutting out known-bad calls as soon as possible.

    E.g. (these are ACTUAL examples of PRESENT policies among some UK tele-sales offices)

    "You can not hang up on the customer. They must hang up."

    One of my friends had a three-hour ordeal with a woman whose husband had died and had to persist trying to sell to her because she could only plead for THEM to hang up, she was so upset. Yes, the woman should have just hung up rather than upsetting herself but she was hardly thinking straight.

    "You must try to make an appointment for a salesman to call, even if you know it will mean no sale."

    So tele-sales were booking appointments with people who were so annoyed at the telesales that they were threatening violent action. They were talking these people into BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT with a real, physical representative of the company who then turns up their house only to be pulverised.

    On a similar tack, I just had a sleazy salesman knock at my door the other day. His opening words, while flashing an EDF Energy ID card, were "Hi, we're from EDF Energy and we're here to give you a new prepayment electricity key". Okay, I'm listening. I have a pre-pay meter. But I know there's something not quite right. The following conversation then ensued.

    "Okay... erm... but I don't think I'm with EDF." (I'm actually with E-On but I was sufficiently confused between the two to take a second. Note that in this second he would not have been allowed access to the property or even the meter cupboard anyway. I'm not THAT stupid).

    "Oh. Well. Would you mind telling us who you *are* with then?"

    "Erm. You know? I'm not telling you."

    "Why not?"

    "I believe you're a salesman. Goodbye."

    "Thank you sir."

    Two hours later, he was back and I opened the door again (the wife had been suitably alerted by this time anyway so she would have slammed the door in his face too). He only said "Oh, it's you. We've spoken to you."

    What got me was the unbelievably casual fraud (they implied, even if the actual words didn't say, that they were my current electricity supplier when in fact they were planning to sign me up to a new electricity supplier by inserting the key into my meter). And the fact that they went up the road and obviously carried on with the same line for the rest of the afternoon before turning back and trying the houses that they'd missed.

    If I hadn't been in the middle of laying a new floor at the time, I would have shouted down the street and knocked on everybody's doors to warn them myself, or call the police and make them explain themselves. They may have been doing nothing "wrong" but I'm sure that a police officer wouldn't take kindly to their sales pitch and it would cause them enough trouble to try another street.

    Guess what happens next time I'm choosing an electricity supplier? The ones who commit fraud on my doorstep don't get included.
    • "You can not hang up on the customer. They must hang up."

      really? h boy are they going to have a large bill next time they call me. I only use my landline for broadband so I don't care if I put it on the side without disconnecting. joy.

      "You must try to make an appointment for a salesman to call, even if you know it will mean no sale."

      really? well, I'd like the salesman to call on tuesday morning. What time tuesday morning? Yep 'morning'. And then I'll make sure to be out and only get back at 11:59.

      Works for them, why can't it work for me?

      On the other hand, life is far too short to do anything more than just hangup on them immediately.

    • by Ihmhi ( 1206036 )

      This could be cause I'm an American, but I had no idea you could get pre-paid electric meters. That's pretty interesting.

      A lot of countries have electric meters mounted on the outside of the house, either in the front or the back. (This is not as commonplace in America, where a lot of houses still have meters in the basement.) I wonder, if you can put a "key" into this pre-paid meter, what prevents someone from surreptiously inserting their company's key into your meter and forcing a change in your servic

      • by swb ( 14022 )
        Most houses have the meter outside the house. The meter (at least here in Minnesota) belongs to the electric utility and the external mounting allows them to service the meter without customer involvement.

        I had mine swapped out without warning, which of course cut my power. I filed a grievance with the public utility commission which got me a call from the utility apologizing and asking me if it was OK to rescind my complaint; I told them no, it wasn't OK, and what-if-I-had-a-respirator, etc. They gave m
    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by knight24k ( 1115643 )

      "You can not hang up on the customer. They must hang up."

      Ok, this just struck me as funny since my favorite thing to do with telemarketers is to get them talking and then quietly set the phone down and walk away. It doesn't cost me a dime, I have a cell phone for people that need to contact me and I know it hurts them way worse than simply hanging up. It wastes their time and forces them to either wait or hang up eventually. Of course if I was as quick witted as Tom Mabe http://www.tommabe.com/ [tommabe.com], I would

      • Walking away while they talk to dead air isn't a felony like impersonating a police officer is. Maybe you should stick to your way ;)
  • by sjs132 ( 631745 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @08:38AM (#23323186) Homepage Journal
    Will it actually change their marketing ploys? I doubt it.

    Just the other day, I was taking care of dinner and kids when phone rang. It had my wife's name (yes, I have; and yes some role reversal, but I get home earlier, etc..) Without thinking, I answered. It was a stinking telemarketer. When I chewed her out and she hung up, I looked back at the caller ID log. Instead of my wife's name and cell phone # as usual, it had wife's name and our own land line phone number! So not only did this company spoof the name, but also the #. And it seems to happen a lot lately!

    We don't answere the phone unless it is someone we know, and now I have to even worry about that! No, I'm not dodging creditors, I just rank time with kids and family as more important than solicitations for "Troopers association" or other junk callers. If I need your service, I'll look you up. Don't bug me with calls when I'm with the family!

  • by Anita Coney ( 648748 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @08:57AM (#23323336) Homepage
    Part of their punishment was to be barred from violating the very rules they were convicted of violating?! Does that make any sense?!
  • by Just Some Guy ( 3352 ) <kirk+slashdot@strauser.com> on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @08:57AM (#23323338) Homepage Journal

    I'd been getting calls from "Card Services" [honeypot.net], representing themselves as being with my credit card company, once a day or so for a while. I whipped out a short blog entry one day just to vent, and somehow ended up with several thousands hits per month on it. Apparently I wasn't the only one they were driving crazy. It's good to see that these cretins are finally being reined in.

  • The judge later reversed his decision, after receiving phone calls from the president, the secretary of the UN, the pope, and Elvis. "It's amazing how similar all them sound", said the surprised judge.
  • We've been seeing this problem in the Lowell, MA area, from time-to-time. I've also seen how some legitimate phone calls (from companies) are using CallerID spoofing - I still think that should be illegal.

    I'm wondering:

    1) How did they track down the telemarketers who were spoofing. Obviously they left or gave information about their identity and product.

    2) How are these companies being permitted to spoof their Caller-ID? I read an article in alt.2600 a while ago about some of this, but the details escap
    • by Detritus ( 11846 )
      The telephone company knows where the call came from, even if the caller-id data is bogus. In many areas you can trace a call by entering a code on the keypad. The telephone company records the caller's number and will release it to law enforcement upon request.
      • by mpe ( 36238 )
        The telephone company knows where the call came from, even if the caller-id data is bogus.

        In which case the best option would probably be to either cause the call to fail or route it to the appropriate branch of law enforcement.
  • Why is it necessary to bar a person from violating a rule? Doesn't the very existence of the rule already imply it should not be violated?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Because then it's contempt of court which can be punished very quickly.
      • Wouldn't that still require proving that the person violated the rule? Or is this a legal back door allowing judges to summarily punish people?
  • When these sorts of people call him, he gets them going "off-script" and then starts a verbal interchange that is absolutely hilarious to listen to one end of the conversation. When the conversation starts going onto the subject of alien invasions and impending catastrophe, you just *know* the call's going to come to a close in a few moments, with the caller being the one to hang up.
  • Why don't they just close that gaping caller ID security hole? Spoofing shouldn't be possible in the first place.
    • by Skapare ( 16644 )

      I totally agree.

      Telemarketers generally have their own phone switches. But they have to get service from a phone company in bulk with a big trunk line somewhere. Even for outgoing calls, there has to be a phone number involved (even if there are more lines than numbers). The phone company has to know the number(s) provisioned on that line. So they can check the caller ID info being passed along to see if it is one of the provisioned numbers. If there is no caller ID info at all, it should be substitut

  • My brother has the best anti-telemarketing idea. He always says "yes". "Yes I need my house painted." He makes an apointment for them to come out and gives them a time when he is not home. Causes the ideots to waste hours of their time and a few galons of gas. We should all do this.

    What I do is place them on hold - forever. This wastes more of their time then if I simply hung the phone up.
  • Score one for us. I've been receiving calls with spoofed CIDs for the past 3-4 months, including on my cell phone. Up to 8-10 calls a day, and nights too. About 2 months ago I filed a complaint with the FCC, not thinking it would help much. Yet about a month after that I received a notice that my complaint was being investigated, and the volume of calls dropped almost immediately. I still get 1-2 calls a day, not every day though. And at least they stopped calling my cell phone altogether. I wonder if these

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