PERSPECTIVE

Phony Identification

Caller ID lets us avoid those we deem annoyances. But how annoying is it when someone spoofs the system?

(Illustration / Gary Sawyer) Illustration / Gary Sawyer

By Tom Keane

September 24, 2006

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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 ... (Full article: 700 words)