Wednesday, March 20, 2019 8:46 am

NASHVILLE -- State Representative Clark Boyd (R-Lebanon) is cosponsoring an initiative to strengthen penalties against caller ID spoofing.

As introduced, House Bill 1245 increases the civil penalty amount from $10,000 to $25,000 per violation that the attorney general and reporter may recover in an action against a person who commits the offense of caller identification spoofing. The bill also clarifies that each call received by a subscriber wherein the caller identification information is misleading or inaccurate constitutes a separate violation for purposes of imposing the civil penalty.

"Over the last year I have heard from countless people in the district about the amount of phone calls they are receiving on a daily basis often times from organizations who are using caller ID spoofing as a way to scam people," said Representative Boyd. "Tennessee is now taking steps to address this issue, and House Bill 1245 moves us in the right direction to deter spoofing. Although this is an issue that is primarily under the jurisdiction of the FCC at the federal level, I will continue to support this initiative and others that curb this growing issue, and I encourage Tennesseans to be mindful and alert when answering phone calls."

Clark Boyd represents House District 46. Representative Boyd is the chairman of the Consumer and Human resources Committee. He also serves as a member of the Calendar & Rules Committee, Select Committee on Rules, & the Commerce Committee.