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TrapCall Service To Bypass Caller ID Blocking
cemaco writes in with news that TelTech, developers of the infamous SpoofCard service, have come out with something even more controversial: a set of services for revealing blocked caller ID numbers. The services take advantage of a loophole in the way caller ID blocking works — it has never been effective when calling an 800 number, because the recipient is paying for the call. So TelTech instructs you how to forward blocked calls (transparently) to their 800 number; the call comes back to your phone in seconds with the formerly hidden caller ID revealed. Advocacy groups for victims of domestic violence are concerned. Victims of annoying calls hiding behind caller ID blocking are rejoicing.
Advocacy groups for victims of domestic violence are concerned.
Why? Because this doesn't allow victims to harass their abusive partners anonymously? I fail to see what legitimate use caller ID blocking has in a domestic dispute. If anything, this should be a benefit since it destroys the anonymity of a harassing caller.
I am a geek attorney, but not your geek attorney unless you've already retained me. This is not legal advice.
The "if you've got nothing to hide..." argument is quite the slippery slope. It's a bit authoritarian to criminalize everything you don't personally do or agree with yourself, isn't it?
If you have to hide your number you are likely up to no good, why not just make it illegal to hide your caller id
If you don't let the police into your house, you are likeley up to no good. Why not just get rid of search warrants and make it illegal to deny the police entry to your house?
yeah because battered women have just so much money to throw around on cell phones...most of them are so screwed financially that they spend a period of time in a shelter.
but the way that you put quotes around abuser shows where you really stand on this.
... I always felt that blocked calls were the equivalent of someone showing up at your front door with a paper bag (with eye-holes) over their head...
Sounds like my past couple of dates.
"There are no facts, only interpretations." --Friedrich Nietzsche.
I shouldn't have to reveal my number just because the other party wants it
...and I shouldn't have to receive/answer anonymous calls just because the calling party wants it that way. As it is I let 'blocked', 'private', or 'unknown' calls bounce to voicemail. If its important enough they can leave a message, and I'll know who is call before I choose to talk to them.
Use your head, can't you, use your head,
You're on earth, there's no cure for that - S. Beckett
The company offering this unblocking service should offer a free service to victims of abuse where they can call the company (by way of an 800 or 888 number), and the company will place a monitored and recorded call to the person in question (i.e. connect the two, but record the conversation and have an operator either always listening, or available at the push of a button).
This would allow them to make a call that doesn't reveal their location, and would make a heck of a lot more sense than having private phone calls with someone who has the potential to cause you extreme harm.
So go spend $700 on a phone system for the crisis line. You call in, enter your code, and then dial out from the crisis number. My TalkSwitch can do that for my small business without breaking a sweat. The CallerID that goes out is the number from the business. In my case, that sucks, because if you call my office an bounce to my cell, the incoming number is my office number, not the original caller. In this case, it's just a simple matter of training for the volunteers.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
If a battered wife wants to talk directly to her abusive husband, then she is absolutely stupid. Sorry. Battered wives should talk to abusive husband thru lawyers and police officers only.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
Because that's over kill. There is no justification for requiring that the number be shown. The fact of the matter is that the number can be spoofed and some of us don't want our number to show up for one reason or another.
I shouldn't have to reveal my number just because the other party wants it, if they really want it they should have to ask. That way I get a say in whether or not my number ends up on a list.
Sort of like how you have to pay a fee to get out of the telephone book, why it is that the phone companies can put it in without permission is beyond me.
If you are going to call my house, you are making something happen inside my home, probably without my permission. If you are going to do that, I have a RIGHT to know who you are and where you are calling from.
Don't want me to know who you are? Fine, don't call me.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
The service doesn't reveal your number if they're calling YOU, only if you're calling THEM. According to the article, the reason that domestic abuse people are concerned is because there are situations where an abused spouse might need to call her abuser (such as calls about their kids) but doesn't want to abuser knowing the number where they're calling from.
Personally, I think this is a pretty flimsy excuse. Abuse victims shouldn't be in contact with their abusers, period. If they need to deal with custody issues, they should be doing it through a third party or from a disposable cell phone or pay phone. And if an abuse victim is stupid enough to be contacting their abuser using their new home phone, then there is nothing you can do to protect them anyway (you can't stop someone from being a dumbass).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
A battered wife may need to talk to a relative, call a place of work, someplace where the abuser can hunt down the phone number. I had an abuser who managed to get his hands on the cell phone of someone I knew, and got my number from their cell phone. Now my number is blocked. Now I am safe.
And as for the morons below who are complaining about the wanting to talk, well they have a lot to learn about spousal abuse, and the court systems, and reasons for calling. It's not the place to get into it, but guys, keep talking about the technology and not about things you know absolutely nothing about.
Besides that, it's also a complete fallacy.
Trouble is, the law is usually written fairly. Domestic abuse is domestic abuse no matter who does it. The trouble is with the judges who presume guilt on the part of the man.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
It's not the place to get into it, but guys, keep talking about the technology and not about things you know absolutely nothing about.
This gets modded insightful? There is no content in this post other than "You're wrong, but I'm not gonna tell you why. Just take my word for it, because I claim to be authoritative on the subject."
If you feel so strongly that the "morons" are wrong about those subjects, then either add to the discussion or STFU. "It's not the place to get into it" has never been a valid reason on Slashdot. It's called an open discussion.