Tallahassee, Fla. – Cell phone spoofing is a massive problem that costs Florida families. Due to the out-of-control growth of cell phone spoofing and despite legislative efforts to ban it, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced he will work to deepen penalties for these scam artists and directs his office to begin investigating those who break this law.

 

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “A recent report suggests almost half of US cellphone calls will be scams by next year. This is a shocking trend and proves these scam artists will stop at nothing to steal your money or even your identity.

 

“Although the bill passed last session banning call spoofing is a start, we can do more to protect Florida's consumers and make penalties for those breaking the law more severe. As one of the top law enforcement agencies in Florida, my office is dedicated to rooting out fraud and investigating financial crimes. As scam artists look for new ways to circumvent our laws, we are committed to leading the charge to find and prosecute criminals – especially those who use spoofing to commit identity theft and fraud. It’s more than a nuisance and it’s time we end spoofing in this state by hitting these scam artists where it hurts the most: their pockets.”