Is caller ID spoofing illegal?
No it’s not. But there is proposed legislation that could make manipulating a phone number to look like it’s coming from someone else illegal. Are there are legitimate uses for caller ID spoofing? Yes, there are some legitimate uses for spoofing. Voice over IP providers by definition must use spoofing, or some kind of number manipulation, to create phone numbers. But there are other legitimate uses, such as doctors who might want to call back patients without giving their home numbers. Some online dating services that let people talk to potential matches without revealing their real phone numbers use spoofing. Lawyers might also use ID spoofing to protect the whereabouts of clients in domestic violence cases. Even though there are some legitimate users for caller ID spoofing, Lance James, co-founder of Secure Science, which specializes in fraud protection, says 75 percent of all caller ID spoofing is likely for illegitimate purposes. Still, he advocates for any new law to distinguish b
