Las Vegas NowTelespoofing: New Caller ID Scam Hits The Valley

Telespoofing: New Caller ID Scam Hits The Valley

The newest scam may have you thinking twice about whether you can trust your caller ID.

It's called telespoofing and it lets con artists appear as trusted names on your caller ID. So, when it says Wells Fargo, it may not actually be the bank. You may be surprised at how the Internet plays a role in the scam.

Eyewitness News uncovered how valley residents are falling victim to this clever new crime.

With as little as $10, criminals can use web sites to call your home pretending to be the police, your bank, or even a family member. Some Las Vegas residents and even Metro police have been tele-fooled.

When the telephone rings, the first thing most people do is, "Look at the caller ID," said Ebony Sutton, a victim of telespoofing victim.

Eyewitness News Reporter: "Why?"

Ebony Sutton: "So I know who is calling."

Sutton maybe smiling now, but just a few weeks ago the phone calls she got weren't anything to laugh at.

She called the number back. "They would say I had the wrong number. I called back and the number was disconnected," Sutton said.

She and her family are victims of what Metro police call the latest form of identity theft, telespoofing.

"When we first become aware of it, it was off of a case we were working," said Metro's Kim Thomas. "He was using telephone numbers to fool financial institutions into verifying account info and social security numbers and dates of birth."

Thomas says criminals have also use telespoofing to scam, stalk and harass. Even Metro has fell victim to a manipulated caller ID.

"Someone outside of the jail system used a spoofing device in order to authorize release on an inmate and we let him go," Thomas continued.

Ebony Sutton said, "I am picking up the phone acting silly because I thought I was talking to my daughter. And here it is someone I didn't know but the number came up along with her name."

Metro officials say Sutton got lucky. She only had to deal with pranks phone calls. But for others, criminals have posed as their bank or credit card company.

Metro's Kim Thomas suggested, "We recommend that when you receive a call you tell the person I am calling you back."

It's good advice that Sutton says she and her family will always follow. "You really don't know who is on the other line," she concluded.

As of now, using a telespoofing device isn't illegal. But Metro officials say federal and state officials are working on legislation that would make manipulating caller IDs against the law.

Metro police also say it's very hard to catch these criminals because they have to know which web site the person used to place the annoying calls. And unless the caller keeps the number on their caller ID, there is no way to trace it back.

Even when victims keep the number, it's still difficult to prove who actually made the calls.

E-mail your comments to Reporter Travell Eiland.