Telemarketing

==Background==
==Details==
===House Passes Tim Murphy Legislation Ending Fraudulent Phone Calls in December 2006===
With the growing threat of identity theft and other scams relating to Caller ID Fraud, the House of Representatives passed Congressman Tim Murphy's "Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement (PHONE) Act," H.R. 5304, which would make Caller ID fraud illegal. Congressman Murphy introduced the legislation to protect families from harassing and potentially threatening phone calls. 
"A new phone scam recently emerged that allowed people and organizations to purposely disguise their phone numbers to make it appear on a person's Caller ID as if someone else is calling," said Congressman Tim Murphy. "Thanks to the passage of this legislation criminals will no longer be able to steal, mask or otherwise alter one's caller identification to deceive victims. The practice, known as Caller ID fraud, is a serious problem that allows the caller to hide their true identity to obtain someone's personal information for use in identity theft and scams. Now victims have the law on their side to protect them." 
Rep. Murphy introduced the PHONE Act, to make it illegal for anyone to knowingly modify caller ID information with the intent to mislead the recipient of the telephone call. To further protect families the bill punishes violators with up to five years in prison and establishes fines up to $250,000.
The bill, which passed the House of Representatives on Saturday, awaits Senate action.
==Links==
* Phone Act from Tim Murphy http://murphy.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=54105