Most telemarketers call right at the stroke of whenever-your-dinnertime-is. So, when my phone rang tonight, I was really irked. Not because I was having dinner, but because whoever it was had the audacity to call during my hubbing-time! How dare they interrupt my most precious quiet time that I have to myself. This is the time that I think, I write, I check my e-mail, and as my mother used to say, contemplate my navel.

How did I know it was a telemarketer? First, instinct. Second, I knew that the caller couldn't be my daughter. Although my daughter was out, I knew where she was, and third, I knew that the last thing on my daughter's mind was to call her mother. So it could only be only one thing. A telemarketer. Egad!

So, I get up, leave my hot seat at the computer and go to the phone. Thank goodness I have caller id. I did not want to talk to "something something finance company." If it is important, they will leave a message, so I let the machine pick up. Surprise surprise when no one leaves a message.

This episode happens a countless number of times every evening, all across America, and probably the entire world. In my house, at least two times a night and four times on the weekend!

Being the naive and honest person that I am, it never dawned on me that the caller on the other end of the phone might not match the caller id. But being ever so fearful of identity theft. I still take the precautions that I have learned about phone security: never give personal information to someone who calls you.

So Many Scams

However, the advances in technology happen so quickly, that one could blink an eye and the next thing you know, is there is yet another scam the news media is warning about. So, I got to thinking. Is it possible for someone of crooked character and vile morals to call someone else, and "impersonate" a legitimate business? Thereby bilking the innocent of personal information? If so, the scams could be unlimited!

But...I KNOW Them!

IF I chose to answer the phone call that I described above, when the caller id told me the call was from "something something finance company, and I recognized that I indeed do business with them, I would be inclined to answer the call and provide any info that they wanted. After all, I'm their customer. I sought them out, and signed up to do business with them. Besides, the last thing I would want is for them to think I am late on any payments!

So, how easy is it to scam someone using caller id?

Well, lucky for my hub, there IS a law! A federal law that makes it illegal to use caller id to misrepresent oneself. If you want to read the legislation, the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2007 is an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934.

The really ridiculous thing is, there's a market out there to sell the calling cards that enable spoofing!

More Info

I found this website, www.calleridspoofing.info that gives a lot of information about the history, definition, how the scroundrels use spoofing, and more.

Protect Yourself

In my readings, I haven't come across a sure-fire solution that will prevent someone using the spoof-card getting through to you. Perhaps the best policy is to do what I do: simply not to divulge any personal information to anyone who calls you!