OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislation to prohibit ‘spoofing,’ which is often used by telemarketers and scammers to disguise a phone call’s origin, has zipped through the Oklahoma House of Representatives with no interruptions.
House Bill 1891 by Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, would prohibit commercial telephone sellers or solicitors from causing misleading information to be transmitted to the call recipient’s caller identification service or to otherwise misrepresent the origin of a telephone call.
“Spam calls are not only annoying but also incredibly predatory,” Williams said. “Telemarketers and scammers target elderly citizens through many methods, including spoofing, to steal their identities and hard earned money.”
“Many times when I answer my cell phone, the call looks like it’s from someone in my legislative district,” Williams told the House Committee on Technology. “But instead it’s somebody saying the warranty on my car has expired.”
Spoofing is federally illegal but the statute is not enforced, Williams said.
Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, is a co-author of the bill and previously filed similar legislation in the 2020 legislative session. Hilbert’s House Bill 3081 passed the House unanimously before it stalled in the Senate due to the shortened session caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Williams’ HB 1891 breezed through the House, 95-0, and was transmitted to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole.
A violation of the proposed law would contravene the state Consumer Protection Act and would be considered an unfair trade practice “actionable at common law.”