Caller spoofing program

Unfortunately, spoofing can make it impossible to know for sure who is really calling your line. You cannot trust the information that appears on a caller ID display.

Criminals who spoof caller ID will try to convince you of their false identity and story. The calls can come from individuals or robo-calling systems. Spoofing services and technologies are readily available.

The calls, which can be placed from anywhere in the world, can be difficult, if not impossible, to trace. The federal Truth in Caller ID Act prohibits any person or entity from transmitting misleading or inaccurate Caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value. We suggest first that you do not answer any calls from unknown numbers, but if you do, explain that your telephone number is being spoofed and that you did not actually make any calls.

You can also place a message on your voicemail letting callers know that your number is being spoofed.

Usually, scammers switch numbers frequently. It is likely that within hours they will no longer be using your number. Robocallers use neighbor spoofing, which displays a phone number similar to your own on your caller ID, to increase the likelihood that you will answer the call.

To help combat neighbor spoofing, the FCC is requiring the phone industry to adopt a robust caller ID authentication system.

Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, FCC rules prohibit anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongly obtain anything of value. However, spoofing is not always illegal. There are legitimate, legal uses for spoofing, like when a doctor calls a patient from her personal mobile phone and displays the office number rather than the personal phone number or a business displays its toll-free call-back number.

If a telephone number is blocked or labeled as a "potential scam" or "spam" on your caller ID, it is possible the number has been spoofed. Several phone companies and app developers offer call-blocking and labeling services that detect whether a call is likely to be fraudulent based on call patterns, consumer complaints or other means.

The FCC allows phone companies to block robocalls by default based on reasonable analytics. A business in West Springfield on June 22, , received about calls in one hour. Due to the high volume of calls, the business did not have enough resources to answer all of the calls. It quickly became apparent that the businesses number had been used in a series of spoofed calls and the calls were not from customers but from the recipients of the spoofed calls.

This hurt the business, as they were busy answering calls from people who were not customers. Many countries do have ways to report Caller ID spoofing. If you would like to report calls to the CRTC, you can navigate to their website and follow the instructions on how to report the call. If you suspect that someone is spoofing a number illegally, report it to the FCC.