Used to be, America’s phone lines were a lawless frontier town. Just about any unknown stranger could bust through your phone’s saloon doors and pretend to be somebody else.
That was before Rep. Eliot Engel came to town, guns a-blazin’.
Yep, it was high noon Wednesday when Engel mosied down mainstreet flashing a polished sheriff’s badge, spurs and H.R. 1258 the “Truth in Caller I.D. Act of 2009” — the latest in anti-“spoofing” legislation. You see, Engel had seen one too many outlaws “spoofing.” That is, using false Caller Identification to trick unsuspecting homesteaders into giving away their personal information. So he did what any lawman would do, he got enough support to pass a bill in the House by voice vote.
Sheriff Engel likes to tell a story about spoofers. The way he (and various news reports from 2009) tells it, a group of Queens bandits who used fake Caller I.D.s managed to steal $15 million from over 6,000 American settlers. The authorities wrangled that gang of Queens varmints, but Engel vowed he’d make it tough for posers to copy their scheme.
Now, know this youngeon, Engel ain’t no fool. If you don’t want your Caller I.D. to say your name, that’ll still be OK after his bill becomes law. H.R. 1258 is a weapon that’s only meant to target thugs and conmen. The Associated Press says, “The legislation would only outlaw the use of spoofing technology when the intent is to deceive and harm the recipient of the call. Legitimate uses of the technology, such as a domestic abuse shelter changing its number to protect an occupant of the shelter, would still be permitted.”
It was high noon, and Engel brought his legislative guns.