Jan. 05, 2016
HARRISBURG – Legislation introduced by Rep. Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Wyoming), which is intended to discourage fraudulent caller-identification activity, recently passed the House.
House Bill 391 would make it a crime to display false caller identification information with the intent to deceive someone.
“Pennsylvanians are being contacted by individuals who use spoofing equipment to steal valuable information. Senior citizens are particularly susceptible to these crimes and this bill will help protect seniors while deterring criminals from this terrible behavior. House Bill 391, if signed into law, would impose penalties for criminals who engage in such deceptive acts,” said Boback.
This legislation would make it a misdemeanor crime for any person to cause false caller identification information to be displayed on a recipient’s telephone, with the intent to harass or defraud the call recipient. The penalty for a first offense would be a $2,500 fine and up to one-year in prison. Second or subsequent offenses would be subject to a $5,000 fine and up to two years in prison.
This legislation would not apply to the blocking of caller identification information; to law enforcement agencies, federal intelligence or security agencies; or to a telecommunications, broadband or voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP) service provider that is acting solely as an intermediary for the transmission of service between the caller and call recipient.
The bill moves to the Senate for consideration.
Representative Karen Boback
117th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Morgan Dux
717.260.6695
mdux@pahousegop.com
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