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Caller ID spoofing, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the act of manipulating or changing the phone number that appears on someone's call display when you place a call to them. As a user of a caller ID spoofing service, you would simply enter in your real number, the number you are calling to, and the number you want to appear on the receiver's call display. Caller ID spoofing providers such as www.SpoofTel.com and www.Spoofem.com also offer other services such as call recording and voice changing among others.
The opponents of caller ID spoofing providers have existed since the inception of the service. Over the years, numerous organizations and individuals alike have exhausted all available means in order to attack the providers of caller ID spoofing. Certain individuals and organizations put forth claims of how threatening caller ID spoofing is. Opponents claim that scammers use it to gain personal information from people in order to commit fraud and other offences.
Granted, there have been crimes committed n the past by individuals using caller ID spoofing and providers are very aware of this. However, if a criminal is attempting to use the service maliciously, chances are they are not paying for the service legitimately. Criminals who use the service pay for it with stolen credit cards. What happens in such a transaction is; the deposit is charged back by the credit card company when the rightful owner claims they did not make the purchase. The credit card company or payment service also charges the spoofing provider a fee for the chargeback which is usually anywhere from $10 to $25. So, for instance, if a scammer purchases $10 worth of "Spoof Minutes," the provider loses out on $10 worth of goods and services that was used by the scammer, an extra $10 for the amount charged back by the credit card company, in addition to the chargeback fee.
Providers are not in business to help criminals commit scams. SpoofTel, a caller ID spoofing provider since 2004, states that it will do everything it can to prevent fraudulent and malicious use of its services; including cooperating with law enforcement should someone be found to be using the services illegally. Spoofing providers have various safeguards in place to help protect against fraudulent and illegal use of their systems.
The message that should be given to the public is to be cautious in any situation. You should always be careful about giving personal information over the phone. Make sure you know who you are talking to and make sure there is a need for you to give information. If someone calls asking for information, you could always ask to call them back and then research the phone number to ensure its legitimacy.
The same idea would also be true for responding to emails. Some scammers are quite good at what they do and, although unfortunate, we have to be careful and mindful of this in order to protect ourselves. However, it is unfair to place blame on companies trying to offer a service, when it's a select few who are attempting to exploit the service the companies are providing.
