Security @Home

.
Scam artists add new
arrow to their quiver:
Caller ID

Tribune--Caller ID isn't the trusty old crystal ball that it used to be.


Revered for years by persnickety consumers who like to screen their telephone calls, the premium service is now being appropriated by identity thieves.

Such scams are made possible by technology that enables con artists to manipulate the phone number and even the name that shows up on the unsuspecting recipient's caller ID, allowing them to masquerade as officials of churches, banks and courthouses.

Known as "spoofing," the endgame is to persuade consumers to reveal their Social Security numbers or other sensitive information. Spoofing is the phone industry's version of phishing, in which criminals use fake e-mails to fool computer users into divulging personal information. But phishing is so yesterday compared with spoofing, one security expert says. More....