Robocaller Tricks My Caller ID Into Thinking It's My Wife

[keepinitreal]

December 9, 2010

John picked up a phone call that seemed to be from his wife, but discovered it was someone even more adept at nagging and less affected by indifference — a robocaller.

He says he was the victim of caller ID-manipulating trickery by credit card marketers.

His story:

Help! I think I may be the victim of a new telemarketing trick and I'm wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them and what I might be able to do to stop it.

I got a call on my cell phone at 2:57pm today (12/8/10) from my wife's cell phone.

When I answered, it was a robot telling me that there was nothing wrong with my credit card (didn't say which card) and that I should press 1 to find out how to lower my interest rate.

I called my wife at 2:59pm and she said she didn't make any calls to me.

I called AT&T and they verified that I received a call from my wife at 2:57pm but when they checked her account, it shows no record of the call originating from her account.

Note that both phone numbers are on the Do Not Call Registry.

Could this be some new telemarketing trick where they somehow spoof numbers from your address book so you a) answer the call and b) can't identify them and report them to the Do Not Call Registry?

http://consumerist.com/2010/12/robocaller-tricks-my-caller-id-into-thinking-its-my-wife.html

[keepinitreal]

I hope bill collectors don't spoof relatives' numbers to get debtors to answer the phone...

[nokia123]

This happened to me, they used my best friend number to call me.

[keepinitreal]

Sold on the Internet by TelTech Systems, a SpoofCard allows users to select any 10-digit number to appear on the phone of the person they're calling.

[drowning123]

What will they think of next.

[frogger]

Sold on the Internet by TelTech Systems, a SpoofCard allows users to select any 10-digit number to appear on the phone of the person they're calling.

And.... anyone using an autodialer can program for any number they choose to show on caller ID. Just all part of the game.

[Pandora]

Internet - the best and worst thing ever conceived....info to be bought, sold and bartered - our lives at the mere click of a button

I swear before too long we're all going to be microchipped!

[frogger]

info to be bought, sold and bartered

Every tidbit of info about you is for sale. Every single bit....

[helpme2010]

I am sure you can report this to the FTC and by giving your phone number and the exact time they called, they should be able to reverse trace this, as this is fraud. Maybe they won't go after just one call, but if there is someone doing this on a larger scale, I believe the FTC can work with the phone providers and when they catch that person, they will likely get nailed to the wall.

[Pandora]

Every tidbit of info about you is for sale. Every single bit....

aint that the truth! Scary when you think about it...

[doni49]

I once received a call on my GV number--the GV number that I ONLY give to creditors and collectors--supposedly from my skype number. I'm the only one who knows how to access my Skype account to be able to make any calls.

[frogger]

I am sure you can report this to the FTC and by giving your phone number and the exact time they called, they should be able to reverse trace this, as this is fraud. Maybe they won't go after just one call, but if there is someone doing this on a larger scale, I believe the FTC can work with the phone providers and when they catch that person, they will likely get nailed to the wall.

Report away, but they really just don't give a rats A$$ about it. The only time that the FTC really goes after anyone is when you have the massive cases of abuse that makes for good headlines. For the small scale stuff or individual calls, they won't do anything.

Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

[chicagoannie]

SpoofCard should be illegal. I can think of many dangerous situation that could arise from someone using this technology. Scary.

[frogger]

SpoofCard should be illegal. I can think of many dangerous situation that could arise from someone using this technology. Scary.

Keep in mind that there are 2 caller id signals transmitted. One of those is available to the general public and can be manipulated or blocked.

The other signal however, can not be changed. That is the signal that shows up for 911 services and whenever you call a toll free line.

With that being said however, I agree that caller id spoofing should not be legal.

[Freddy03]

When I was receiving collections calls up to 25 per day. A few times the caller ID stating "AT&T Data Info".

I answered it one time and it was a robocaller from a collection co.