×

‘Spoofing’ is fraud; it should be stopped

Many of us have heard the phone ring, glanced down at the caller ID and seen the name and number of someone we know, answered the phone — and found ourselves talking to someone with a sales pitch or worse, a scam.

It is called “spoofing,” and it enables the unscrupulous to get to us whether we want to talk to them or not.

A coalition of 54 state and territorial attorneys general is asking Congress to do something about illegal robocalls and spoofing. The coalition includes officials from every state in the union, plus Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. New legislation is needed to allow states, federal agencies and telephone companies to crack down on the practices, the state and territorial officials say.

Many of the attorneys general offices receive complaints about abusive phone practices frequently. They do what they can, but point out updated federal legislation is vital in cracking down hard on phone scams, robocalls and spoofing.

Those who invade our privacy, often illegally, should be held accountable. Surely members of Congress can agree on legislation aimed at making that happen.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.65/week.

Subscribe Today