Action 9 investigates cellphone spoofers

ORLANDO, Fla. — Action 9 has found a new way scammers are targeting your cellphones.

Rozalia Deborde's iPhone is constantly slammed by text messages and calls from people she never met.

Deborde said the calls started coming in about a month ago after she found her number had been "spoofed."

"I got about 250 calls in a two-hour period,” she said.

Either someone or a company was using her cellphone number to conceal their identity. Thousands of people were getting sales or nuisance calls, and they saw Deborde’s number on their caller ID.

Those people were then calling Deborde to complain.

"They think I'm harassing them, and I'm worried they may actually look me up," said Deborde.

It also happened to Dominic Tringali.

Tringali’s phone has been choked with calls from strangers, some accusing him of trying to sell phony credit card services.

Tringali  has since complained to his provider, the FCC and state regulators without results.

"I'm definitely a victim, I think, and I don't think they realize the harm their doing to people," he said.

Anyone can buy spoofing technology online or through an app that allows you to create the number others see on caller id. There can be legitimate reasons. But critics say it's far more widely used by scammers.

Deborde and Tringali’s cell providers offered to change their numbers for free..

“I don't have a land line, so this is my life," said Deborde.

The cell companies have waived all the extra texting charges so far. The FCC is investigating hundreds of complaints like these.

WFTV