BUSINESS LAW 101 / Fraud Involving Telecommunication Services

By Albert L. Kelley, Esq.

The criminal statutes have many activities involving the use of telephones and other electronic devices that are deemed the commission of a crime.  It starts with a charge that makes it a crime to possess any device that would allow the person to avoid paying for telecommunication services. In other words, any device that allows a person to make phone calls without signing up for phone service is unlawful. IN addition, it is also unlawful to design plans for such a device and to sell those plans if the intent is to allow someone to avoid paying for telephone service.  Violation of this statute is a first-degree misdemeanor. If the device is used to avoid paying long-distance tolls, such as a device that mimics the tones used by the phone company, the penalty is a third-degree felony.

With the introduction of cell phones, new issues arose and the legislature had to address them.  Each cell phone has a unique serial number programmed into its chip. When an electronic serial number is altered, it is referred to as a cloned cell phone.    The mere possession of a cloned cell phone is a third-degree felony. Selling a cloned cell phone or possessing the equipment to make a cloned cell phone is a second-degree felony.

It is also unlawful to publish or transmit a nonexistent or cancelled phone number or credit number, if the purpose is to avoid telephone or credit charges.  The penalty is a first-degree misdemeanor. 

As the above is regarding avoiding phone charges, there is another issue regarding the protection of phone information.  The public wants to believe that their phone calls are not tracked. While the phone company keeps records of our calls, those records are supposed to be protected. It is a first-degree misdemeanor for someone to attempt to obtain another person’s records without permission. The exception is if this is done by a law enforcement officer in carrying out their duties.

The final area that is affected is caller IDs.  Many people use caller ID for a number of reasons. It can be used to decide what calls to answer and which to ignore. It can be used to track phone usage.  But some callers do not want the recipients to know their identity. This includes telemarketers, scam artists and nefarious parties. These parties will often try to find ways to beat the caller ID system.  If a person inputs false information in an effort to fool a callerID system, it is a first-degree misdemeanor. However, if the alteration of the caller ID system was used in the commission of another crime, or the furtherance of a criminal act, the charge for the underlying crime shall be increased by one level (i.e. second degree misdemeanor to first-degree; third-degree felony to second degree).  

Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located in Key West and previously taught business law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University.  He is also the author of four law books: (“Basics of Business Law” “Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court”, “Basics of Florida’s Landlord/Tenant Law” and “Basics of Starting a Florida Business” (Absolutely Amazing e-Books)). This article is being offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice.  If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

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