Last Updated on September 7, 2020 by SCARS Editorial Team

SCARSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS.|ADVOCACY™ Petition: Ban Access To U.S. VOIPVOIP Stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol is a way to make and receive phone calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a traditional phone line. Phone Numbers Without U.S. Residence or Incorporation Verification

SOLUTIONS DO NOT ALWAYS NEED TO BE COMPLICATED

In today’s world anyone – literally, anyone anywhere in the world can obtain a FREE United States phone number for any purpose without any real identity verification.

This makes it easy for transnational cybercriminals (or anyone else) to engage in scamsScams A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost., cybercrimesCybercrimes Cybercrime is a crime related to technology, computers, and the Internet. Typical cybercrime are performed by a computer against a computer, or by a hacker using software to attack computers or networks., or other unlawful activities. Scammers from around the world use this available pool of phone numbers to execute criminalCriminal A criminal is any person who through a decision or act engages in a crime. This can be complicated, as many people break laws unknowingly, however, in our context, it is a person who makes a decision to engage in unlawful acts or to place themselves with others who do this. A criminal always has the ability to decide not to break the law, or if they initially engage in crime to stop doing it, but instead continues. schemes freely and without any cost. If a phone number is reported and lost, they just obtain another one from any of dozens of services that provide these, including Google.

The tech companies that provide these services are (pending legal opinion to the contrary) immune from liability, so they have no incentive to change this situation.

We ask for something very simple. To obtain a U.S. Phone Number they must:

• Be a United States Resident or Registered Corporation
• Have their personal identity verified
• All use of the phone number or calls made from it must originate from within the United States, except where the verified person travels temporarily beyond the borders of the United States, and all other use would be prohibited
• Make it a Federal Crime to obtain a phone number under false pretenses
• All real persons applying for a U.S. phone number must explicitly agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding its use.
• Issuing services or providers must provide a publically accessible means to report improper use of the United States phone number and are obligated to investigate reports
• Issuing services or providers of such services or who provide access to United States phone numbers will have full liability if they fail to verify the identity of the registrant of the phone number or fail to investigate and resolve reports of misuse.

This would apply to all use of a United States phone number, including for account registration purposes such as for online services (including SKYPE, WHATSAPP, and others)
If we can enact something this simple it would eliminate 99% of all phone scams, and use of United States phone numbers in transnational fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim., scams, and cybercrimeCybercrime Cybercrime is a crime related to technology, computers, and the Internet. Typical cybercrime are performed by a computer against a computer, or by a hacker using software to attack computers or networks..

We are petitioning the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, The United  States Congress, and President Donald J. Trump for action on this matter.

THIS PETITION WAS CREATED AND IS AUTHORIZED BY THE SOCIETY OF CITIZENS AGAINST RELATIONSHIP SCAMSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS. INC. A REGISTERED INCORPORATED NONPROFIT NONGOVERNMENTAL CRIME VICTIMS ASSISTANCE ORGANIZATION. VISIT WWW.AGAINSTSCAMS.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

PLEASE SHARE OUR ARTICLES WITH YOUR CONTACTS
HELP OTHERS STAY SAFE ONLINE

SCARS™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.

TAGS: SCARS, SCARS|ADVOCACY, Advocacy for ScamScam A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. Victims, Activism, Petitions to Government, Petitions for Change, Change.org, VOIP Phone Numbers, Residence Verification, Incorporation Verification, President Donald J. Trump, United  States Congress

The Latest SCARS|RSN Posts