By ANDREA LANNOM
The Register-Herald
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Mineral County delegate said he plans to draft legislation that would make using false caller ID information illegal.
Delegate Gary Howell, R-Mineral, said he plans to introduce the bill in the next regular legislative session that would ban “spoofing,” according to a Thursday news release.
Some telemarketers, creditors, financial institutions and other solicitors have used technology to falsify information transmitted to caller ID to disguise their identities.
Howell, who chairs the House Committee on Government Organization, said he and many of his constituents have been annoyed after answering phone calls that appear to be from local numbers but end up being telemarketers from distant locations.
“People think they’re receiving a call from someone in their hometown, only to get irritated by a pushy telemarketer trying to sell something you don’t want,” Howell said in the release. “It’s annoying. It’s deceptive and it ought to be illegal.”
The federal Truth in Caller ID Act and Federal Communications Commission rules prohibit any person or entity from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information. However, spoofing is legal under federal law if no harm is intended or caused, the release said.
Howell said he has asked legislative attorneys to begin drafting a bill to make spoofing illegal in West Virginia under any circumstances.
“People have the right to be free from annoying, unwanted or harassing phone calls,” Howell said in the release. “We need to send a message that this deceptive practice will not be tolerated in West Virginia.”
See more from The Register-Herald
