The first thing, for those who may not know exactly what caller ID is and how it works, is to give a brief explanation of caller ID.
To trace caller ID's history you have to go back to the 1980s. During this time, state public utility commissions from all over the country were trying to agree whether or not to approve telephone company requests for Caller Number ID service (CNID) which had come from the ever increasing annoyances of telemarketing and prank calls. At the time Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) brought up some concerns that were published in their news letters and newspapers printed around the country. Because of these concerns, Public Utility Commissions (PUC) decided that they better get involved in the proceedings that were taking place across the country.
The decisions of each state varied. Some agreed with the CPSR analysis that not having the ability to block one's number from being identified led to right to privacy issues that we are still battling today. In California they actually requested that CNID would not be allowed in their state. The commission however decided to allow it with the provision that the number would only be visible if the person making the call gave permission for this to be done. By default, no numbers would be shown, which effectively made caller ID in California pretty useless. Because of this restriction, telephone companies in California decided not to offer caller ID at all. Meanwhile, in Oregon, certain privacy concessions were made so that the caller ID service was approved.
Because of the problems that they faced in many states, telephone companies petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue rules on CNID that would apply nationwide. What this ended up doing was just making things worse. The FCC decided to make number blocking the default nation wide, which actually overruled many of the individual state's decisions. Many of the states appealed but the FCC denied all their appeals. This cleared the way for telephone companies to offer CNID with weak privacy protections nationwide. That is what we have today.
But what good is caller ID anyway? Most numbers that call us we probably won't recognize anyway unless they are close friends. What if a company we actually do business with tries to call us? We may not recognize the number. Do we answer the phone or not? The truth is, and many people believe this, answering machines do a better job of screening calls than caller ID. The machine actually answers the call and then if it's important the caller will leave a message and a phone number so we can get back to them.
The bigger problem with caller ID is that this allows businesses to collect phone numbers for marketing purposes, which brings up the privacy concerns again.
Whatever side of the fence you're on, caller ID will certainly be a greatly debated topic for many years to come.
What is Spoofcard? It is a software system that allows outgoing callers to disguise their name, telephone number, voice and gender. It also allows the caller to record their telephone calls. In order to use Spoofcard you create an account very similar to long distance calling card plans or prepaid cell phone plans. The price of 60 minutes is $10.00 and customers may purchase up to 480 minutes for $80.00. Only credit cards are accepted by the site.
Customers are assigned a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access their account. First, they call into the Spoofcard telephone system, dial the number you are calling and then dial the number and name you wish to appear on the receiver's caller id. Next the system asks if you wish to change your gender or record a message to be played for the telephone call. Users may also record their calls, to replay later.
Spoofcard and their affiliates claim that it is simply an entertainment tool, however they also claim that it provides a certain level of privacy from professionals such as doctors or lawyers who may find it necessary to contact patients or clients out of office hours. It is stated on their site that one of the many reasons for purchasing the software is to enable professionals such as these to protect their home and cell phone information, but allowing them to program their outgoing calls to indicate the office and office telephone number.
Another entertainment purpose is to create your own unique telephone number to announce who you are, similar in nature to having ring tones that indicate who is called. Nicknames may also appear on the caller id screen.
However critics of Spoofcard are worried. Received calls may be tricked into answering calls from ?ex's? or other individuals that they wish to avoid. We have all done it, screened our calls to determine if it is a good time to answer the phone or if it is someone who really want to talk to at that moment. Quite often even I ignore the phone after seeing the ID and deciding to return the call instead of answering it. Although prank calls have been and always will be a part of a teenager's life with this system pranks may go too far causing immense fear, costs and police resources, such as in the prank interview by Paul Zahn of CNN news. Millions of telephone customers pay and additional fee for Caller ID, and now that protection is not available to the consumer at either their home or cell phone.
Uses for Spoofcard can also be extremely ?ugly.? Uses of the Spoofcard system can result in; the ability to access voicemail systems that do not belong to the caller; identity theft such as giving personal and financial information believing it to be a legitimate call based on the caller identification information and stalking, just to name a few of the more frightening uses for this system.
Spoofcard is legal. Even after Congressional hearings on the use of the software, it was determined that the software was legal, but that specific crimes associated with its use were not. Stipulations are in effect; such as the service is illegal only if used to deceive or attempt fraud or theft as a result of the call. In some cases, depending on the state, the recorded calls may or may not be admissible in court. The web site for Spoofcard indicates that all requests by a legitimate government agency will be honored.
Spoofcard may be purchased online through their homepage or through several affiliate programs. The homepage Spoofcard.com provides consumers with the ability to purchase their minutes. receive technical support, participate in the forum and access the FAQ page. However, in my research on the web, far too many claim to be using the system for illegal purposes, and although they make these claims, technology is available to keep their identity safe ? but what about yours?
This system is just the latest of several new services available to both legitimate consumers and criminals alike that needs to be monitored and examines to protect from identity theft, and other crimes, now more easily available to criminals by utilizing this system.
Both Michael Russell & Lisa Carey are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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