Legislation to Protect N.Y. State Residents From Phone 'Spoofing' Passes in Senate

The State Senate unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Senator Craig M. Johnson (D-Port Washington) that would protect residents from deception, harassment and possible fraud over the phone lines.

The legislation (S.2753A), passed on Thursday, March 11, would outlaw "spoofing," a practice where telemarketers and others seek to mask their true identity by altering the number that appears on a person's Caller ID.

"This repugnant and unacceptable tactic has been used to bring deceit and harassment into people's homes," Senator Johnson said. "In the absence of a federal ban, we need an updated state law that will protect New York residents from this intrusion. I encourage the Assembly to join us and take up this very important legislation."

The practice of "spoofing" has been used to trick people that see a local number on their Caller ID into picking up a call from a solicitor. There has also been at least one documented case where spoofing was used as a harassment tactic. In that circumstance, an individual's phone number deceptively appeared as the Caller ID location of a widely distributed pre-recorded call, resulting in a mass amount of return phone calls to the unsuspecting victim.

Under the legislation, violators found to have used spoofing with the intent to defraud, harass, mislead, or cause harm to a person can be liable for a fine up to $100,000.