Abuse and Deception by Telemarketers.

House Bill 520 aims to protect North Carolina citizens and businesses from deceptive telemarketing practices, particularly those involving misleading caller ID. The bill establishes that a telephone number is the property of the subscriber and prohibits telephone solicitors from misrepresenting the origin of a call or transmitting misleading caller identification information. It also prevents telephone carriers from knowingly providing subscriber numbers to entities that will violate these provisions. Individuals who receive calls in violation of the misleading caller ID rules can sue for civil damages, including an additional $10,000 fine for each knowing violation. Knowing violations of the caller ID provision are also classified as a Class H felony.