Slashdot Mirror
Handling Caller ID Spoofing?
An anonymous reader writes "A nice little old lady I know has had her number spoofed by some car warranty scammers. They're calling hundreds of potential victims per day pretending to use her phone number, and the angry ones call her back; some of them have even left death threats. She's terrified. Some well-intending anti-telemarketing folks have posted her address on the 'net as well. How can we figure out where these scammer bastards are, and what's the state of the current legislation to prevent caller ID spoofing? I called the FBI in Boston (near where she lives) and they said they can't help. She's called her phone company, but they said they can't help either. She's had the same number for over 50 years and doesn't want to change it." If the Feds can't or won't handle it, what's the best approach here?
I've had good luck with my local FBI office (Ann Arbor) when I received an interstate death threat.
...
Do you get a lot of those?
A host is a host from coast to coast...
Unless it's down, or slow, or fails to POST!
.. or she could hire - the A-TEAM!
About all I can do is have a nice conversation with the caller, explain the situation, and ask them to talk with the scammer next time and find out who they are. I volunteer that I have some employees in Afghanistan who, in exchange for a ticket home, will be happy to pay the bastards a visit.
Ibid.
Come on its 2008, we can't just take such trifling things as an individuals vouching for someone and their previous good record. She SAYS that she didn't make the call, but what would she say if she was waterboarded? Would she stick to her story or switch it to admit that she did make all the calls?
Sure she claims that she doesn't want to change her number just because she has had it for 50 years, but couldn't that be because she co-ordinates a major terrorist cell of grandmas across america (known in intelligence circles as Al-Quilter)? These evil women are spreading hate through out of date sugary treats and a fondness for knowing everything that is going on in the world while comparing it unfavourably with their own personal ideology of "it was better when I was young". We must stop these pedallers of hate against modern American who condemn the US of A as going to hell in a hand cart and not the sort of country that they want to live in. Death to Al-Quilter
I say condemn her based on the irrefutable caller ID evidence.
Seriously though its good that this old dear has someone looking out for her because in modern America you could easily see her being prosecuted because of an unfortunate conjunction of evidence.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Does anyone else find it odd that people are always so focused on individuality and not being "just a number" and then hold onto our phone number for dear life?
She should start providing a car warranty if she wants to keep her phone number.
Asking to be removed doesn't work.
Citing the do not call list doesn't work. They laugh.
Telling the male calling, in my deepest voice, that he sounds cute and I want his home number, THAT seems to work. Especially on the ones with southern accents.
I wonder what would happen if everyone started propositioning these callers for 'favors'.
Just post their website here - the sheer curiosity of a million slashdotters will flatten their servers faster than a horde of Mongol warriors on horseback.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
if she can find them.
This signature is a waste of 42 characters
"I pity the fool who scam ol' ladies, pretendin' t'be ol' ladies. Murdock! Git off the phone, fool!"
Anytime I get on I94.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
little old ladies are always calling me
no seriously. the best i can make out from the odd chats i've had with various little old ladies over the years is that my number was previously owned by a high end and antique pen dealership. that explains the demographics of the calls i get. an occasional little old man, sure, but mostly little old ladies make up the customer base for fine crafted pens
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
we need an angry mob to find these car warranty robo-caller bitches and give them hell.
Yaknow ... I used to get a few these calls per week. One of the OP states that they laugh at you if you mention the DNC, or ask to be removed from their call list which is my experience as well.
I have not been called since I asked for extended warranty on my '72 Dodge Dart. Seems they realized I was going to be a dick, and stopped calling.
YMMV.
Ask the phone company for something nondescript, like 867-5309.
the old lady should say someone called "Osama B" is spoofing her phone
she will get FBI attention in no time
I've had good luck with my local FBI office (Ann Arbor) when I received an interstate death threat.
Yet another reason I make all my death threats locally...
Then you mention something about fava beans.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Yeah, I just called them and got some sad sounding old lady.
So am I the only one that sees the irony in having a banner ad for a product that lets you "FAKE your Caller ID" on a discussion about how bad that is and how to stop it?
I skipped the middleman and now answer "PRIVATE NUMBER" and obviously-forged numbers a little differently. Example:
Me: Nebraska Attorney General John Bruning's office, how may I help you?
Scammer: Ummm, would you... like to cut your credit card interest rates?
Me: If you hang up, I will arrest you. What number are you calling from?
Scammed: [scared expletive deleted] [dial tone]
OK, so I lied. I don't think they're going to file a complaint about it.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Let's spend the money collected through taxes wisely (education and infrastructure), instead of stupidly (wars and bank bailouts) and see if that fixes things.
Dude, ya gotta take those Illinois plates off when you go north of the Cheddar Curtain.
Either that, or put a Packers decal in your window.
Wow - Mongol hordes on Horseback clearly get way better mobile connectivity than I ever do.
Squirrel!