False Caller ID Information is a Crime in Texas

You know what’s weird with spam calls? When it shows your own cell phone number. I got a few of those for “extended car warranty” calls and I picked up the first time (I’m not sure why. Did I think I was trying to call myself?). Technology now allows people to spoof their phone number and have it appear as any number on your called ID (including your own number). Texas has now made that illegal, but I’m not sure how this would actually be prosecuted unless the caller and victims are all in Texas.

So what’s the law on phony caller ID? Glad you asked.

Sec. 33A.051. FALSE CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION DISPLAY.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person, with the intent to defraud or cause harm, makes a call or engages in any other conduct using any type of technology that results in the display on another person’s telecommunications device of data that misrepresents the actor’s identity or telephone number.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

Can you still block your number? Yes. That’s allowed. So you can show no number, or blocked number, but not a fake number. This law also doesn’t apply to cops and private investigators, so they get a pass to trick people.