Can I do this from my phone too?

If identity theft is the huge problem the media says it is... maybe the phone company shouldn't be allowing corporations to spoof other people's phone numbers.

A recent telemarketing-style poll, asking people how Daryl Kramp has performed as the area MP, caused major concerns for the local Conservative member.

It was not the results of the poll which caused Kramp to cringe but, instead, the fact that recipients of the phone calls were led to believe the call was coming directly from his constituency office on Millennium Parkway.

The calls were in fact originating from an Ottawa company hired by the Prince Edward-Hastings MP, but a clerical error resulted in Kramp's office number showing on telephones equipped with call display.

A spokesperson for Protus, who refused to give her name, said there was an error made when the phone calls were made and the number displayed "defaulted to (Kramp's) account phone number, which was his office number."

This seems like a huge hole for scammers and e-hackers to exploit. A boiler room scam that appears to be originating from your bank, or the local police station would have instant credibility to anyone with call display on their phone.

Anybody out there have any contacts at Ma Bell?

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UPDATE: Let's see what Protus says

I contacted Protus via the form on their website. Let's see if they choose to answer questions about this... or just duck and cover.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out our Form. One of our Account Executives will be contacting you within 48 hours.

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PROTUS REPLIES: And yes, they spoof clients numbers...

Apparently, it's standard operating procedure...

In response to your query, like all service providers, Protus makes calls on behalf of our clients.

To help the call recipients identify and reach the originator of the message (our client), valid caller-id information needs to be provided by each of our clients.

Our operating processes and controls are designed to ensure that all of our calls are accurate and comply with regulations.

Regards,

Sue Rutherford

Director Marketing Communications
Protus IP Solutions Inc.
2379 Holly Lane, Suite 210
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1V 7P2
www.protus.com

I will be following this up with Ms. Rutherford.

Technorati Tags: phone fraud, identity theft, Bell Telephone