Have you ever heard of caller-ID spoofing? Caller-ID spoofing ( also called phone number spoofing ) involves making a phone call to a person or business through a system designed to trick their caller-ID equipment into displaying another residential or business phone number.

Believe it or not, phone number spoofing is currently legal in the US. Although, the US House and Senate are working on legislation [ HR251 & S.704 ] that would make phone number spoofing a federal crime.

A Google search for caller-ID spoofing returns nearly 80,000 results, including a number of websites that offer online phone number spoofing services.

Network World has recently published an interview with a telecommunications worker who used phone number spoofing on a former employer, who owed him thousands of dollars in unpaid commissions. After the HR department stopped returning his phone calls, he used a chain of spoofing numbers to finally reach the CEO of the company to complain about the unpaid commissions owed to him.

He even confesses to using caller-ID spoofing to spoof a White House phone number.

His take on the use of phone number spoofing — “Juvenile? Yes,” Bell acknowledges. “Effective at getting past call screeners? Absolutely. Subject to horrible abuse? Totally.”

For an interesting read, check out Network World’s interview with “Bell” @ Confessions of a Caller-ID Spoofer.

MyWay.com News is reporting on a clever device that is being used by businesses in England to chase away troublesome teens and kids. The device emits a high-frequency sound that drives misbehaving children away from businesses and other public areas.

The device is called a “Mosquito” and it gives off a high-frequency noise that is audible – and annoying – to young ears, but is not heard by people over the age of 20.

Already, public officials and civil liberties groups are speaking out against the use of such devices.

Howard Stapleton, the inventor of the Mosquito, has called for discussions about guidelines for using the devices.

Stapleton is quoted in the article as saying -

“We tell shopkeepers to use it when they have a problem and I would be more than happy to introduce a contract which stipulates to shopkeepers how it can be used,” Stapleton was quoted as telling the Western Mail newspaper.

“People talk about infringing human rights but what about the human rights of the shopkeeper who is seeing his business collapse because groups of unruly teenagers are driving away his customers?”

Source: MyWay.com

A new application for GPS tracking technology for use in soldiers’ uniforms could prevent ‘friendly fire’ incidents.

According to WorldTribune.com, the Israeli Army is looking into the use of GPS systems embedded in soldier uniforms to allow commanders to track their soldiers in real time to avoid ‘friendly fire’ incidents.

According to a senior Israeli Army officer – A major problem for army commanders is not always knowing where all of their troops are. A GPS tracking device on each soldier would allow them to determine if any of their soldiers was near a potential target.

NATO has already made GPS tracking standard practice.

Source: WorldTribune.com

Inspector Gadget would be proud of these ten free email services that allow users to send email messages that self-destruct after a specified period of time.

You see the list and read more about these self-destructing email services @ Ten Free Services To Send Self-Destructing Emails Which Expire/Disappear Automatically After Specified Time Interval.

A recent AP article details the ways in which new surveillance cameras are getting smarter.

From the article —

The next time you walk by a shop window, take a glance at your reflection. How much do you swing your arms? Is the weight of your bag causing you to hunch over? Do you still have a bit of that 1970s disco strut left?

Look around _ You might not be the only one watching. The never-blinking surveillance cameras, rapidly becoming a part of daily life in public and even private places, may be sizing you up as well. And they may soon get a lot smarter.

Researchers and security companies are developing cameras that not only watch the world but also interpret what they see. Soon, some cameras may be able to find unattended bags at airports, guess your height or analyze the way you walk to see if you are hiding something.

Most of the cameras widely used today are used as forensic tools to identify crooks after-the-fact. (Think grainy video on local TV news of convenience store robberies gone wrong.) But the latest breed, known as “intelligent video,” could transform cameras from passive observers to eyes with brains, able to detect suspicious behavior and potentially prevent crime before it occurs.

Surveillance cameras are common in many cities, monitoring tough street corners to deter crime, watching over sensitive government buildings and even catching speeders. Cameras are on public buses and in train stations, building lobbies, schools and stores. Most feed video to central control rooms, where they are monitored by security staff.

The innovations could mean fewer people would be needed to watch what they record, and make it easier to install more in public places and private homes.

Source: Surveillance Cameras Get Smarter

Inventor Isaac Daniel has invented sneakers that has a GPS chip in them for finding and locating people.

From My Way News –

Isaac Daniel calls the tiny Global Positioning System chip he’s embedded into a line of sneakers “peace of mind.” He wishes his 8-year-old son had been wearing them when he got a call from his school in 2002 saying the boy was missing. The worried father hopped a flight to Atlanta from New York where he had been on business to find the incident had been a miscommunication and his son was safe.

Days later, the engineer started working on a prototype of Quantum Satellite Technology, a line of $325 to $350 adult sneakers that hit shelves next month. It promises to locate the wearer anywhere in the world with the press of a button. A children’s line will be out this summer.

“We call it a second eye watching over you,” Daniel said.

Source: GPS Shoes Make People Findable

The BBC News is reporting that Skype is planning to add a lie detector feature to its internet phone service that will allow users to monitor stress levels in conversations with other people.

From the article –

Skype is to offer the KishKish Lie Detector, which is made by BATM, as an add-on for customers.

It analyses audio streams over a Skype call in real time and illustrates the stress levels of the other person.

Skype’s software lets computer users talk to each other for free and make cheap calls to mobiles and landlines.

Paul Amery, director of Skype developer programme said: “This is a really excellent application, and the kind of thing we want to see more of.

“Lie Detector is the latest in a variety of product in our premium add-on programme which greatly enhance the Skype communication experience.”

No price has yet been set on the application, or a roll-out date.

The lie detector is the latest products which Kishkish has designed for Skype users, with others including voice mail and call recorder.

BATM says it hopes to be able to provide Skype users with further additions in the near future.

As well as operating in real time the KishKish device can also record calls for analysis later.

Source: Skype users to get lie detectors

The Sun Online is reporting on a high tech psychological warfare technique being used by the British Military’s Psychological Operations Group: instead of dropping ominous leaflets over enemy lines, they are sending SMS text messages directly to their cell phones and mobile devices.

From the article –

TALIBAN fighters in Afghanistan are being bombarded by a devastating new British weapon — the text message.

Intelligence chiefs find out the numbers of the enemy’s mobile phones then send them waves of messages to confuse them and destroy morale, The Sun can reveal.

Texts range from simple abuse such as “We know who you are, give up” or “Go home, you’ll never beat us”. Others are disguised as messages from comrades to spread duff information. And attacks on Royal Marine commandos in lawless Helmand province are DOWN in the last month since the mind games began.

The text attacks are carried out by the 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group, based at the Intelligence Corps’ HQ in Chicksands, Beds.

A military source in Afghanistan said: “If they know their fight is pointless, they are quite likely to give up.”

Source: Blitzed by text messages

Silicon.com is reporting that Malaysia is planning on using RFID tagged license plates to curb car theft and track stolen vehicles.

From the article –

RFID licence plates are set to be introduced next year by the Road Transport Department in Malaysia, according to reports.

Authorities there are hoping the high-tech plates will curb car theft, with each chip containing information about a vehicle and its owner.

It means police will be able to scan cars at roadblocks, see if a car’s plate matches its registered details and detect stolen vehicles.

New cars will reportedly be the first to sport the new tags with older vehicles following suit in the staggered rollout of the proposed RFID-tagged plates.

Source: RFID number plates to hit Malaysian highways

Here is an entertaining blog post for the spy in all of us and die hard James Bond fanatics. The PopSci blog has compiled a list and photo gallery for the top 15 best James Bond gadgets ever.

Source: The 15 Best Bond Gadgets of All Time.