There are several reasons that people want to fake caller id. I can remember the days before regular people had the ability to see who was calling them when the phone rang. Most everyone just answered the phone and then hung up if it was someone who they did not want to talk to. There were also a lot of trick calls in those days. Fake caller id, otherwise known as caller id spoofing, has evolved as a way for somebody to change the caller id transmitted to the called party. By spoofing or faking your caller id, you can look to be someone else or appear to be calling from a different location.
Here are the top 5 professions that can benefit from fake caller id:
1. Small Business Owners: Small business owners often operate by themselves or with a small group of people. They often work non-standard hours and frequently work from home after their regular work hours. Many times this work requires them to make calls and they need to appear as if they are calling from their office or place of business. By spoofing their caller id can make it look like they are calling from their work phone when they are actually calling from their home phone or cell phone.
2. Attorneys: Lawyers often work from home or other places outside their office. They also do not want most of their clients to know where they live or what their home phone number is. In order to keep this information private, attorneys can fake their caller id using a spoofing service.
3. Medical Professionals: People such as doctors, dentists and nurses from time to time have to use phones other than their office phones to contact patients. These medical professionals, like the attorneys mentioned above, may not want to divulge their home or cell phone numbers to their patients.
4. Collection Professionals: There are laws which cover the use of fake caller id when used in debt collection efforts and these professionals must abide by them. There are times when a debt collector may need to return an official call and not be in the office. They can change their caller id to show as their official number and make the call from wherever they are at the time. Persons employed in the repossession field can also fake their caller id when they are in the field following up on leads to locate property.
5. Law Enforcement: Those in the law enforcement profession likely benefit the most from caller id spoofing. Many people will not answer calls from the police so law enforcement can use a spoofing service to hide their identity from the person they are calling. This is also used in undercover operations where officer safety may be an issue.
If you have a valid and legal reason to change your caller id, there are several options to choose from to assist you. Most of the services are calling card type services where you dial into their system and then enter the number you are calling and then the number you wish to show on caller id. The call is then connected. While some of these companies may provide short term free trials, most of them allow you to pay per call or buy a pool of minutes.
Once again, before spoofing your number be certain that you are not in violation of any laws. If you work in a profession that fake caller id is useful, be sure to only use it when needed and you will see the ability it has to allow you freedom from the office.
