House Approves Bill To Protect Consumers From Phone Scams
June 13, 2007, WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to thwart telephone scam artists who manipulate caller identification services to lure consumers into revealing personal information, announced U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon.
“As con artists incorporate new technology to target victims, we must make sure our consumer protection laws keep pace,” said Gordon, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over telecommunications issues.
“In recent years, technology has evolved that allows telephone scam artist to transmit misleading information on caller ID displays so that it looks like a bank, school or other trusted source is calling. People are then prompted to reveal personal information that can lead to identity theft.”
On Tuesday (June 12), the House approved the Truth In Caller ID Act, H.R. 251, which prohibits falsification of caller ID information. The bill makes exceptions for law enforcement activities and organizations such as domestic violence shelters, which have a need to protect a caller’s identity.
Earlier this year, Gordon supported additional measures aimed at preventing identity theft from the loss of personal information. Those measures focused on computer spyware programs, which identity thieves can use to gather information such as bank and credit card numbers, as well as Social Security numbers.
The congressman has been a long-time advocate for consumer protection issues. Over the years, Gordon has supported measures to increase funding for law enforcement to investigate identity theft and bills to make it easier for identity theft victims to clear their records.
In 1990, Gordon introduced legislation to regulate 1-800 and 1-900 telephone numbers, and his bill became the base for the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act. That law prohibits charges on calls to 1-800 numbers, allows consumers to block 1-900 numbers and requires 1-900 operators to disclose rates and give consumers a chance to hang up without being charged for the call.
