FCC accepting comments on PSAP-spoofing notice
The FCC is accepting comments on proposed rules to implement the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, which was signed into law in Dec. 22, 2010. The act is designed to prohibit individuals in the U.S. from “causing any caller identification service to knowingly transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.”
According to the notice, “Increasingly, bad actors are manipulating or ‘spoofing’ caller ID information to facilitate schemes that harm consumers or threaten public safety. Some caller ID spoofers, for example, transmit caller ID information that makes it appear that they are calling from consumers’ banks or credit card companies in an attempt to trick call recipients into providing their account numbers or other sensitive information. In other instances, caller ID spoofers have engaged in a practice referred to as ‘swatting,’ which involves placing false emergency calls to law enforcement agencies to elicit a response from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams.”
The FCC is accepting comments on this notice through April 18. View the full notice at www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0322/FCC-11-41A1.pdf.
