Caller ID involves sending a caller’s phone number and/or name to the phone of the person receiving the call. The receiving party must have the capability to view the number, either through his handset or his PBX.
Service Control Points (SCP)
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated the creation of Service Control Points (SCP) throughout the country. These SCPs are databases with which the different telephone companies synchronize their customer’s caller ID information. The databases are maintained by NeuStar, Inc., a spin off of Lockheed Martin and contracted by the government to maintain "the authoritative database of telephone numbering resources for North America." These databases also provide an access point for carriers to retrieve the caller ID information of callers outside their network.
Local Number Portability (LNP)
The SCP databases laid the foundation for local number portability (LNP), allowing customers to keep their telephone numbers when changing carriers. Every time a call is dialed, one of these SCP databases is accessed by the phone company to look up the caller’s name and number. The name and number is then broadcast to the receiving party’s phone. This is referred to as “dipping” into the database. The phone company pays a “dip” fee each time it has to access these databases. With a universal identification system a customer’s phone number could be easily moved from one carrier to another with a simple change in their listing. In 1996 the Telecommunications Act opened up competition and allowed customers to change phone companies.
Caller ID Blocking
The phone companies’ networks use a digital format called SS7 (Signaling System #7) to set up and transmit caller ID. If some part of the entire network does not support this format, the caller ID will not be sent. Another reason you might see unavailable, unknown, or private number on your caller ID screen would be that the calling party has chosen to block the transmission of his information, a feature referred to as caller ID blocking. This feature blocks the calling party’s name and number information from being broadcast to the called party’s phone.
Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
Blocking your caller ID is not a fail-safe method to insure your privacy. Years ago the phone companies developed Automatic Number Identification (ANI). ANI broadcasts the billing number over the network rather than the calling number. The system was created as a method of billing calls between carriers. A caller’s billing number would be broadcast over the entire network by the originating central office switching equipment. The receiving carrier’s equipment would then use that billing number to bill back the charges to that originating carrier and ultimately the caller.
The ANI information is now available to end users. With the right equipment, companies that use ISDN PRI service can receive the ANI information…and more importantly, this information cannot be blocked! Toll free companies also broadcast this information since the called party is paying for the call. If I were to call my mortgage company from my blocked line, for example, they would use this ANI information in conjunction with their computer network. The operator would get a “screen pop”, information about my account that would “pop” up on the representative’s computer screen. He would then great me by name, and have my full account history in front of him, ready to address any of my questions or concerns.
Caller ID Spoofing
Caller ID Spoofing is the sending of inaccurate caller ID information to a called party’s phone. In September, 2004 the company Star38.com was launched to “spoof” caller ID. After this many other companies sprang up to provide the same service. Collection companies use caller ID spoofing as a means to get their calls answered. Telemarketing call centers use caller ID spoofing to display the name of the company or charity that contracted their services. Even private individuals may spoof their caller ID when they want to prank a friend. Unfortunately, any service that may have a legitimate purpose can also be used to defraud. Con artists have used caller ID spoofing to appear to be with legitimate companies or organizations as part of their scam. Unsuspecting victims have donated to nonexistent charities and given personal identification information to these criminals.
Some caller ID legislation has been already been enacted. Since January 28, 2004, call centers and telemarketers are required to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and broadcast their caller ID information on each call. To comply with this requirement, a telemarketer may:
- transmit its own number and, where available, its own name, to consumers’ Caller ID services, or
- substitute the name of the seller (or charitable organization) on whose behalf it is calling, and the seller’s (or charitable organization’s) customer (or donor) service telephone number, which is answered during regular business hours.
Shortly before this rule the Do Not Call registry was established to allow residents to register their number is a registry and avoid most telemarketing calls. The TSR gave residential customers the ability to identify those telemarketers that called. Not all telemarketers have followed these rules. They either call from a number with caller ID blocking, or they spoof the name and/or number.
State and Federal legislatures have submitted several bills to make it illegal to transmit any false caller ID information unless authorized by a court order, or done so in connection with authorized law enforcement activities. If or when passed, these laws will make it a criminal offense to “spoof” a number with the intent to defraud or cause harm.
If your company is operating on the fringe of the law, it is highly recommended that you stay continually informed regarding telecommunications regulations and laws. The penalties are becoming more and more significant. When it comes to communications laws, what you don’t know can hurt you…a lot!