Chris Murphy: “I rise to ask for support for my bill, H.R. 5304, the Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement Act, or…”

“I rise to ask for support for my bill, H.R. 5304, the Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement Act, or the PHONE Act. This bill is a critically important consumer protection from fraud, deception and other crimes. It offers for the first time criminal penalties for those who falsify a caller ID number in the commission of a crime. Over the years, Congress has repeatedly worked to prevent consumers from identity theft. Unfortunately, with new technology comes new risks and new opportunities for criminals to evade the law. One of these new technologies used by thieves is the practice of call spoofing or caller ID fraud. With caller ID fraud, one masks their identity by altering their outbound caller ID number in order to mislead the call recipient. In other words, you can make a call from your phone, but to the one who is receiving the call, your caller ID number can be anything you so choose. In short, caller ID fraud takes away accountability from people who wish to do harm to others. Today, 21st century criminals are using fake caller identification to anonymously defraud and harass Americans all across the country. That is why I am so pleased that Congress is considering H.R. 5304 tonight, in order to penalize caller ID fraud perpetrators. This bill is particularly necessary to protect American families and the elderly now. It doesn't take much imagination to understand how dangerous this practice could be for unsuspecting people.”