more on Phony Identification

Begin forwarded message:

From: David Pollak <[email protected]>
Date: October 15, 2006 4:14:50 PM EDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [IP] Phony Identification

David,

It's very, very easy to manipulate caller ID... and, except under  
very specific circumstances, it's perfectly legal.

To fake caller ID, install Asterisk on a spare PC (http:// 
asterisk.org/) and then sign up with a VoIP wholesalers that passes  
caller ID (e.g., NuFone http://nufone.net).  Configure your Asterisk  
system to pass any caller ID you want when you make a call.  It just  
works.  No great magic.  Anyone who can use emacs or vi and has 6  
hours on their hands can have any caller ID they want.

Thanks,

David

On Oct 15, 2006, at 12:05 PM, David Farber wrote:

>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Monty Solomon <[email protected]>
> Date: October 15, 2006 1:47:03 PM EDT
> To: undisclosed-recipient:;
> Subject: Phony Identification
>
>
> PERSPECTIVE
>
> Phony Identification
>
> Caller ID lets us avoid those we deem annoyances. But how annoying is
> it when someone spoofs the system?
>
> By Tom Keane  |  September 24, 2006
>
> The number on my Caller ID reads 617-000-0000, and I pick it up,
> half-thinking it might be James Bond. A little disappointingly, the
> call is from the Suffolk County district attorney's office. Law
> enforcement types, apparently, can manipulate the telephone system to
> hide their real numbers. It makes sense. There are bad guys out
> there, and prosecutors don't necessarily want them phoning back.
>
> Some months later, I get another call from the same number. I answer,
> visions of DA Dan Conley with a martini - shaken not stirred - on the
> other end. Instead, a recorded message starts up, and I hear a
> sonorous voice: "I know we can do better . . ." It's from
> gubernatorial candidate Chris Gabrieli. Now I really am disappointed.
>
> Since it was introduced about 20 years ago, Caller ID has evolved
> from an amusing gimmick ("Hello, Bill." "How did you know it was
> me?!") to a ubiquitous tell-all. At home, we use it to avoid
> telemarketers; at work, it lets us hide from annoying customers.
> Teenagers love the cellphone feature that creates a different ring
> depending on whether one is friend, foe, or, worst of all, Mom or
> Dad. Of course, it's possible to block one's identity on a call
> (press *67), but many of us have set up our phones to automatically
> reject anyone who does. Businesses have taken advantage of the
> technology as well. Call from home to activate your new credit card
> and there's no need to type in your card number. Phone for a
> late-night snack and the pizzeria already knows your name, address,
> and, one suspects, whether you tip well or not.
>
> The telephone once allowed us to be nameless, then Caller ID seemed
> to change all that.
>
> ...
>
> http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2006/09/24/ 
> phony_identification/
>
>
>
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