Stopping Phone Spoofing
Assembly Bill 1132 (Gabriel) Becomes Law! Prohibits impersonating a government agency phone number
December 2019 update
A new CFC-sponsored law, AB 1132 (Gabriel) makes it unlawful in California to use caller ID information to impersonate a state, federal or local government agency phone.
Your caller ID shows an incoming call from a government agency phone number. But the call is from a fraudster using a smartphone app to impersonate a police department or other government agency’s phone number to mislead you into providing personal information or making a payment. “Phone Spoofing” or Caller ID Spoofing” has become an epidemic, with tens of thousands of consumer complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
Recent examples of phone spoofing include impersonating police department phone numbers to demand payment to clear fake warrants, and impersonating health agencies and Social Security Administration to obtain confidential Social Security numbers.
The new law creates fines up to $10,000 for each instance of a violation of the phone spoofing violation.
AB 1132 enjoyed nearly unanimous bipartisan support in the State Senate and State Assembly. Read CFC’s sponsor letter