The House Utilities Committee passed legislation to prevent telemarketers from replicating phone numbers and misrepresenting the origin of a phone call.

House Bill 3081, authored by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, would prohibit callers from tampering with information displayed on caller IDs to disguise their identities. This practice is known as “caller ID spoofing” and is a common tactic used by telemarketers and scammers.

“House Bill 3081 prohibits telemarketers from replicating phone numbers or misrepresenting the origin of a phone call in order to deceive call recipients,” Hilbert said.

“Until this issue is resolved at the federal level, we must do everything we can as a state to help cut down on these predatory and time-consuming practices.”

Texas passed similar legislation last year.