| Caller ID is a completely unauthenticated protocol. The system asks you what number you're calling from and you can tell it anything you want. It just believes you. Contrary to what other people said, you don't need a special line or to involve a specialized company. Almost all opensource VOIP systems allow you to spoof caller ID with a configuration setting or a little scripting/programming. It's not illegal to spoof caller ID in the US. Many companies spoof a main call-in number from all of their employee's desks. Some morally bankrupt companies like the New York Times have been found to spoof invalid phone numbers when they harass people through their phone system. These robo-callers call my cellphone at all hours of the day and night. It really reduces my quality of life. I have to have my phone on at night because I'm perpetually on call. There was a span of nearly a month where I was woken up between 1AM and 3AM by someone telling me I won a cruise vacation. Caller ID spoofing is probably the technology that best shows how poor engineering when thinking through communication protocols can have a massive negative impact on the world. Caller ID spoofing is also the technology that allows people to "SWAT" celebrities all the time (using just a home PC) with virtually zero chance of ever getting caught. The kind of odd thing is that these robo-calls have programmed such a gut negative reaction in me to anyone calling me that I will now go to great lengths to not do business with any company that calls me on the phone. Due to getting unrequested phone calls from them, I've dropped a domain registrar, an x86 server manufacturer, and an insurance company. One voice call is all it takes and I am done with the company... even if it is during business hours. I just cannot, and will not, work with a company that calls my personal cell phone with out first being asked to. |