"An Act relating to false caller identification. "

Warning: Do not trust your telephone caller ID. The name and number you see may be false. Both private individuals and commercial spoofers can now cause false caller identification to be displayed on your caller ID screen. False caller identification is more than pranks, or annoyance. The power to create serious mischief with Caller ID spoofing technology is almost unlimited and it can facilitate fraud, and can be potentially dangerous.

For example, some financial institutions use caller ID to authenticate telephone requests for personal account information. With a few personal tidbits and your spoofed number, an impostor could access your bank or credit card account. Scam artists who appear to be phoning from a reputable agency can defraud their victims with ease. There's potential for hoax emergency calls with false caller ID to law enforcement or the fire department. Predators could use caller ID spoofing to commit crime against women and children.

Anyone with sufficient computer and telephonic skills can spoof telephone caller Identification systems. In fact an entire telephone spoofing industry has emerged, and is growing daily. With one service for the price of a ten-dollar calling card anyone can change what someone sees on their caller ID display and even change their voice. These spoofing services can work with mobile phones, landlines as well as telephone services that are routed via the Internet.

CSHB 308 is a simple measure, that doesn't get into the technological complexities of how the spoofing gets to the display on your Caller ID. If you insert false Caller ID information into a Caller ID system a crime has been committed.

Alaska should take whatever action possible within its jurisdiction to stem the abuse of "Caller ID Spoofing." CSHB 308 will make it class B misdemeanor for any person who inserts false information into a Caller ID system, except for legitimate law enforcement, intelligence or security agencies.

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