Cell Phone Users Beware Of "Spoofing" - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

WMDT 47 NEWS - Caller beware. There's a phenomenon out there called "Spoofing", where someone can pretend to be you, just by using your phone number.

There are websites out there that facilitate this. It appears there's also apps for that.

Some think of spoofing as a prank, a harmless hoax. But, consider this. Salisbury police chief, Barbara Duncan tells WMDT, earlier this month, someone used this technology to pose as the Mayor of Salisbury, calling a local blogger, which sparked a political fire-storm and police investigation.

"Yeah, that's terrible!" exclaims concerned cell phone user, Christy Meritt. "People right away they assume, you know, the worst. So, of course, they assume the worst about the mayor, not knowing all the information."

Spoofers can also pretend to be your doctor, your bank, or even the police.  They can call and try to glean vital information from you. 

"Now that I know that I know about it, that's definitely something to keep in mind," says Charlotte Urian. "I really hope that doesn't happen to me or my family ever. It's a little bit scary."

Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton plans to host a press conference Thursday to address the spoofing incident which took place on June 2nd.

The "Truth in Caller ID Law" prohibits caller ID spoofing for the purposes of defrauding or otherwise causing harm. But it doesn't change the fact that these websites and apps are out there.

So how to you protect yourself from people trying to spoof your identity? First, don't give out personal information when you take an incoming call. Second, if you get an inquiry from a company or government agency seeking personal information, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement or the government agency's website. And if you believe you're a victim of spoofing, report the incident to the Federal Communications Commission immediately, by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC or filing a complaint at fcc.gov/complaints.