Spoofing Still Plagues PSAPs
PSAPs across the country are still experiencing issues with spoofing, which refers to a caller’s ability to modify caller ID, including the name and number. Although it seems like just a harmless prank, spoofing can tie up emergency resources.
On March 9, the FCC filed a Notice of Proposed Rule Making accepting comments on proposed rules to implement the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, which was signed into law in December 22, 2010. The act is designed to prohibit individuals in the U.S. from “causing any caller identification service to knowingly transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.” The FCC is required to issue regulations within six months of the law’s passage.
According to the Notice, “Increasingly, bad actors are manipulating or ‘spoofing’ caller ID information to facilitate schemes that harm consumers or threaten public safety. Some caller ID spoofers, for example, transmit caller ID information that makes it appear that they are calling from consumers’ banks or credit card companies in an attempt to trick call recipients into providing their account numbers or other sensitive information. In other instances, caller ID spoofers have engaged in a practice referred to as ‘swatting,’ which involves placing false emergency calls to law enforcement agencies to elicit a response from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams.”
In the PSAP
Spoofing or swatting can have serious repercussions for public safety — from creating a public relations issue to diverting the attentions of emergency resources.
Agencies have reported spoofers calling citizens under the guise of the seven-digit non-emergency number or an agency’s main number to harass citizens, while impersonating a police officer.
Hugo Costa, director of the Mesilla Valley (N.M.) Regional Dispatch Authority, says his agency has had this exact scenario play out several times, with spoofers using the non-emergency number. “We find out about it when the [resident] calls us back to complain about the call,” he says. “So far, we haven’t found a way to track it, as the perps seem to only target any given number once.”
Mark J. Fletcher, product manager for Avaya, expressed his concern about spoofing and exactly how easy it is. “It is extremely troubling, but it is easily done. I have a phone on my desk that is a SIP phone connecting to a public carrier. This carrier has a Web page that allows me to enter any 10-digit number I wish, without verification. If the number I put in MSAG validates, my 9-1-1 calls will go to that selective router and center.”
Be Proactive
The FCC is accepting comments on this Notice through April 18 (Docket No. 11-39), with a reply comment date of May 3. View the full Notice at http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0309/FCC-11-41A1.pdf.
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