PHONE Act of 2009

Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement Act of 2009 or the PHONE Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) impose a fine, a five-year prison term, or both, on anyone who knowingly uses or provides to another, in interstate or foreign commerce, false caller ID information with intent to wrongfully obtain anything of value; and (2) impose a fine, a one-year prison term, or both, on anyone who knowingly provides caller ID information with the intent to deceive the recipient of the call about the identify of the caller. Exempts from such prohibitions authorized activities of a U.S. law enforcement or intelligence agency. Provides for criminal forfeiture of any gains from violations of this Act and of any equipment, software, or other technology used to commit such violations.

Expands the definition of "telephone call," for purposes of this Act, to mean a call made or received using any real time voice communications service, regardless of the technology or network used.

Establishes fraud crimes related to electronic mail and caller ID spoofing as predicates for money laundering prosecutions.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov