Then his wife noticed something odd.

“I looked on our Caller ID, and the caller’s name and phone number were ours,” she said.

Curious, she called Qwest Communications International and learned it’s happening.

As it stands now, callers wanting to play pranks — or do worse — can call you and make the Caller ID on your phone or box display any number they want.
Caller ID spoofing has been around for years, used by people who, legitimately or not, want to pose as someone else. It’s a way to speak to someone who’s been avoiding them.

These days, anyone can do it easily by dealing with Internet companies. One such company’s Web site says “Be who you want to be,” and “Totally Private! Totally Fun!”

Tellingly, first on the company’s list of customer testimonials is pranksters, above those of law enforcement, private investigators and professionals.

The first spoofer brags about using it to convince a friend he’d won $1 million, nearly causing the friend to call his boss and rudely resign.

Another prankster says he “called all of my siblings on my mother’s birthday (she is deceased). I used the number 777-7777 (for Heaven).  I also used the female voice changer and told them to “remember that today was my birthday and to eat a piece of cake in my memory.’ Needless to say they were all spooked!!”

“Telling my friend who is a licensed plumber that his license has been revoked due to unethical practices. It drove him nuts … it was hillarious (sic).”
“With the recording option, I was able to record my conversations and use that as proof when I caught my wife in a lie,” says another.

The company says on its Web site that what it does is legal. It also warns that some states outlaw using the service to “mislead, defraud or deceive,” and that many states prohibit recording a call without informing the person on the other end of the line. Washington is one of those states that requires both parties to consent to recording a phone call.

It also says “if there is illegal activity and we are served with a subpoena, we will cooperate with the court.”

All this has come to the attention of the Federal Communications Commission, which says it can be used to commit fraud.

“Congress is currently considering new laws that would make this practice a crime and permit law enforcement authorities to take action against spoofers,” says the FCC’s Web site, www.fcc.gov.

Beyond blocking

FCC rules for years — in the name of privacy — have required telephone companies to allow customers to block their phone numbers for free when calling someone from one state to another, so their number doesn’t appear on the recipient’s Caller ID.

The simplest way is to type *67 before you dial when you want a call blocked. The FCC does not regulate blocking within the same state, but *67 can be used anyway.

It’s a valid practice. For many reasons, folks who place legitimate calls might not want to give out their unlisted home number, or private cell number, for example.

Wikipedia has a list of legitimate uses of blocking on its page devoted to Caller ID spoofing.

For telemarketers, however, the FCC has rules that prohibit blocking their numbers, its Web site says.

To operate legally, telemarketers must display a number that folks can call during business hours, to ask the company to not call them again.

The FCC’s Web site offers several ways for people to complain about telemarketers that violate those rules.

Blocking is one thing but spoofing is another, the FCC says.

“Using a practice known as ‘Caller ID spoofing,’ disreputable parties can deliberately falsify the telephone number relayed as the Caller ID number to disguise the identity and originator of the call.”

John Branton covers crime and law enforcement. He can be reached at 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.