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TrapCall Service To Bypass Caller ID Blocking

Posted by kdawson on from the anonymity-was-an-illusion-anyway dept.

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.

4 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah really by brunes69 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you are calling me then I have a right to know who you are AFAIC.

  2. Blocking Caller ID illegal in some states by kurt555gs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The State of Michigan and I believe 6 other states passed laws written by the RIAA to make it a felony to mask your IP address. The laws were written so broadly though, that masking the information about any electronic identity would constitute a crime including caller ID.

    Many states modified this before passage, but Michigan and several other states just passed the RIAA bill as submitted.

    It is a class 3 felony to block caller ID in Michigan.

    Thanks RIAA

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    * Carthago Delenda Est *
  3. Re:I don't get it ?? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, battered women's shelters and advocacy groups can help with this problem. They often actually buy victims throw-away cell phones for this purpose.

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    My blog
  4. Re:I don't get it ?? by R2.0 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Although I agree with your sentiment about the OP's attitude, it is an unfortunate fact that protection orders are routinely used by the woman's lawyer in a divorce case. My brother in law is going through a really nasty divorce right now, which his wife initiated when his salary got drastically cut. The first thing she did was file for a protective order against him, on the grounds that she was "afraid" of him. It was granted immediately, since that is policy in most courts, and now he can't enter his own house. Meanwhile, she gets to strip the house of anything of value (like checkbooks, etc.) and he can do nothing about it. And as far as I know, the only "violence" he ever employed was on his high school football team.

    Women like this play right into the "they're all lying" crowd, and reinforce the misogynistic views that some abusers have.

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    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson