Overdue debtors may not be able to rely on Caller I.D. to screen out bill collectors much longer. Jason Jepson, a California entrepreneur, plans to bring the hacker technique of Caller I.D. spoofing to the business world.

Star38 would offer subscribers a simple Web interface to a Caller I.D. spoofing system that lets them appear to be calling from any number they choose, from nonsense numbers like “123 4567” to the number for the White House switchboard.

Caller I.D. spoofing is not new, of course, but Star38.com seems to be the first to turn it into a commercial venture. The service will charge a twenty-five cent connection fee for each call, and seven to fourteen cents per minute.

Jepson believes that collection agencies in particular will find the service invaluable for getting recalcitrant debtors to answer the phone. And his attorney thinks that the practice is permissible. Star38.com should be launched on September 1st.

From Security Focus.