TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to T. Sean Weintz:
Pat wrote:
>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And did you notice the Tricktel people
>> do not work for free either; I think I saw on their web site where the
>> rate for their 'services' ranges from 25 cents up to one dollar per
>> incident, depending on what they think about you as a customer. Let's
>> assume you pay one dollar per call made. Can you afford that? I sure
>> cannot. I think Tricktel also said that depending on how tough things
>> get on them (in the event of a complaint) they may or may not protect
>> your 'privacy'. I just don't know you can trust them. PAT]
> Not only that, but clearly the service is aimed at making harrassing
> calls. Making such calls is illegal, is it not? So here we have a
> business who's only line of service is set up to make illegal harrassing > phone calls.
> I'd think they would be pretty easy to shut down under the RICO
> statutes. Could make a pretty good "criminal enterprise" argument. I
> doubt they'd be able to do much to protect anyone if their ISP access
> logs are all subpoenaed by some DA.
> If ya DO use it, use an anonymous prepaid debit card, and only go to
> their server via an anonymous proxy!
Some folks may not have a vindictive agenda; rather they want to spoof a friend with a call with a mutual friend's caller id and some silly message. I think that is what this is about. So, is that type of call a harassing call under the intent of the law. I seriously doubt it. It seems a lot more like a more sophistated rendering of prank calls.
If my view stands, then the issue becomes spoofing of caller id. It seems the FCC lost control of that one starting with its 1995 Caller ID Decision, in which it reserved the issue of PBX-type customer-generated Caller ID, and never subsequently addressed the issue. So, for me at least, I look to the FCC for the first case of blame with all this.