Strange Numbers on Caller ID? 113
boohiss asks: "I've been getting a lot of calls on my cell phone from '+001819'. I haven't answered them, of course. But what is this number? I've found some various explanations here and there, but nothing conclusive. There's also the story on Snopes about the famed 809 long distance scam, which may or may not be what this is. Could it be some form of cell phone spam that isn't compatible with my phone? Does anyone else get these calls, and has anyone figured out what they are?" If anyone is unfortunate enough to fall for one of these, what options do they have in terms of damage control?
It might be... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:It might be... (Score:1)
Re:It might be... (Score:2)
All your caller ID are belong to us. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:All your caller ID are belong to us. (Score:4, Funny)
UID 0 (Score:2)
Re:All your caller ID are belong to us. (Score:1)
Maybe your 0-000-000-0000 is similar.
For the Intel Developer's Forum... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:For the Intel Developer's Forum... (Score:2)
Why don't you just answer? (Score:5, Funny)
Or you could of course ask 100,000 other people who have no real idea what you're talking about, of course.
Re:Why don't you just answer? (Score:1)
At the very worst you might have to hang up on them...
Re:Why don't you just answer? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why don't you just answer? (Score:1)
Re:Why don't you just answer? (Score:2)
Re:Why don't you just answer? (Score:2)
Could also be long distance calling card or VoIP (Score:5, Insightful)
A friend sometimes calls my cell from Korea using a long distance calling card and the number displayed on my Caller Id is very similar to the one you posted.
Just a guessing:
Strange caller id numbers also originate from a poorly configured (or intentionally screwed up) Voice Over IP phone.
Re:Could also be long distance calling card or VoI (Score:2)
I work for a telecom company (if you know which one, you also know I don't speak for them) and when I'm abroad roaming and someone calls me from home, I sometimes get these types of numbers.
Basically it means they're not passing a proper caller ID, but also not telling the destination network that the number is not for display.
I suspect it's a network identifier, for accounting purposes within the telco. All it means is that whoever is calling is calling from overseas... That's not to say it's not a
VoIP (Score:1)
It is the international prefix (Score:5, Interesting)
All that number means is
+ (international dial)
00 (in some countries this is also international)
819 (area code)
I saw this same problem when traveling through the midwest a few months ago.
Re:It is the international prefix (Score:1, Informative)
Re:It is the international prefix (Score:2)
+ (international dial)
00 (in some countries this is also international)
1 (US/Canada international code)
819 (area code)
Suspect your telco isn't handling area codes properly.
Government Offices? (Score:3, Informative)
Always the same number, so we knew who it was, but it was odd.
Perhaps your carrier isn't receiving the caller ID info, and your carrier is just sticking some number on there to indicate that.
Re:Government Offices? (Score:2)
It causes problems sometimes, as some companies we deal with (I think mainly airlines) route your call differently depending on the caller id. When they can't figure out what to do with it, the phone just keeps ringing until you hang up.
Re:Government Offices? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Government Offices? (Score:1)
You've got a phone in your outhouse? You got one a them 'lectric fans what let the bad smells out too, city boy?
Answering machine (Score:2)
just answer it (Score:1, Funny)
Re:just answer it (Score:3, Informative)
The caller's probably from the US, where they have this bizarre system were the recipient of a mobile phone call pays.
+ in a phone number usually indicates an international number (you're supposed to dial your international call prefix plus the number, you see) but there are no country codes beginning with 0. Assuming that, again, he's in the US and the + is in fact erroneous,
Re:just answer it (Score:2)
The system is set up this way because there is no charge for a local landline call (unless you have the cheapest phone service available, and then it is still a flat rate). Our system is not set up to charge the originating party anything but long distance charges.
Re:just answer it (Score:1)
Isaa I sucha baaad Gungan? (Score:2)
Re:just answer it (Score:1)
Re:just answer it (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:just answer it (Score:2)
That's pretty whack. I'm glad it's not like that here in the US.
Re:just answer it (Score:1)
If I call somebodies cell from my cell phone, unless we have a deal, we both get charged for the time used on the network. That's how it works over here.
Re:just answer it (Score:1)
As opposed the Europe where they have the bizarre system where it costs more to call someones cell phone than it does their landline.
Re:just answer it (Score:2)
Which is almost as weird as having to pay for internet access by the minute or by the byte...
Similar thing... (Score:2)
Re:Similar thing... (Score:1)
Re:Similar thing... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Similar thing... (Score:2)
Company with entire exchange. (Score:2)
It could be a company with an entire exchange. One time a guy from Earthlink called me back (I was rearranging phone cords to fix DSL interference, so I had to hang up) and it only showed six digits of the phone number, i.e. the area code and exchange. Either he used a "generic" outside line and they don't want people calling them back, or they don't give out extensions by policy. (I actually know that for a fact--if you were talking to someone, they're not allowed to forward your call back to them witho
Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:5, Informative)
This isn't anything scamy at all, and nothing for you to worry about. All this means is that someone is using some cheap ass long distance to call you... maybe from a prepaid phone card or a VoIP-to-POTS service. Its very easy to not set this up correctly if you are using some crap switching platform like NACT STX, and if the carrier is small enough to be under the radar, they probably aren't filing the PIU forms anyway so they don't give a shit about the tax penalities for not sending ANI.
Your cell phone provider will treat this call the same way it treats all incoming calls. Most likely that means it will just charge you at your normal airtime rate.
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:2)
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:5, Informative)
If you just have a regular DS0 land line, its a bit different. ANI and CLI are transmitted out of band, so you can't reall effect that. The terminating switch will have the same ANI and CLI that your originating switch trasmitted in the SS7 message. However, the "caller id" information (taken from the CLI field) is transmitted in band from the terminating switch to the receiving party's handset... and this is very easy to spoof. Once you are connected, you can send your own in band "caller id" signal which will be picked up by the receiving part's handset. You can probably do it with sound card.
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:5, Funny)
Thank you for helping me understand what I sound like when I try to explain a RAID setup to my uncle.
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:5, Informative)
In-band = information transmitted the same way your data (or voice in this case) is. In an analog phone network, in-band signalling and control is done with things like audible tones and voltage changes.
Out-of-band = signalling and control that happens by some other means outside your data (voice) link. For instance with an ISDN line, the out-of-band signalling is on the D channel, whereas the voice/data are on the B channels.
CLI/ANI info, posted from the first hit of a google search:
CLI , ANI
Calling Line Identification , Automatic Number Identification
CLI = ANI
A service available on digital phone networks that tells the person being called which number is calling them.
The central office equipment identifies the phone number of the caller, enabling information about the caller to be sent along with the call itself. (Osicom)
The providing of the Directory Number from which a terminating call has originated ( NI )
A service available on digital phone networks that tells the person being called which number is calling them.
The central office equipment identifies the phone number of the caller, enabling information about the caller to be sent along with the call itself. ( WorldCom )
At a minimum, the calling line identification includes a single calling party number; it may also include a second calling party number, a calling party subaddress, and redirecting number information.
Calling line identification may not include any calling party number due to interworking, or because of an interaction with the CLIR supplementary service. ( TG )
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:2)
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:1)
How else would you expect it work?
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:2)
How else would you expect it to work?
airtime (Score:1)
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:1)
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:1)
In the US, caller does not pay (Score:2)
When both caller and receiver are cellphones and they are both on the same network, normally nobody pays.
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:2)
The reason for this is mostly historical. When mobile phones were added to the telephone network, they were given normal telephone numbers. Instead of that number being terminated at a regular telephone, it was routed to a mobile phone base station, where a mobile radio ope
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:1)
I do like the British/Euro system where the caller pays, but where are my free nights and weekends?
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:3, Informative)
On the other hand, the calling party does -NOT- pay more for calling a cellular than a landline. In most other countries, cellular has a special city code that is billed at a higher rate. Here in the US you can port any number to cell or landline, so its not usually possible for the calling party to know he is calling a cell.
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:2)
In my area code (561), the 632, 512, and 236 exchanges were all purely cell phones, and there were several others I can't remember offhand.
Now it's a little murkier, but even still, *most* numbers in those exchanges are cellular phones.
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:3, Informative)
Back in the old days
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:1)
Re:Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. (Score:1, Informative)
I should mention a few things about Rogers, you get 2500 incoming text messages a month, but have to pay to send one from your cell. They farmed out their web based system for sending text messages to ZimSMS.com probably because they didn't want to deal with
Answer your damn phone already... (Score:3, Funny)
What an odd coincidence... (Score:3)
</snark>
Re:What an odd coincidence... (Score:5, Funny)
Amulet, Xorn, jelly, feline, dog, incubus, uhh... Xorn, orc, wall, uhh... and amulet.
Actually, what are I and 8? Damn, I should know.
Re:What an odd coincidence... (Score:1)
I should have better things to do at 5:33 AM!
And... (Score:1)
Re:What an odd coincidence... (Score:2)
Re:What an odd coincidence... (Score:1)
Superb. Made me laugh.
It might be... (Score:4, Informative)
According to http://decoder.americom.com/cgi-bin/decoder.cgi [americom.com] it might be:
Those are Quebec province area code (Score:1)
PRI (Score:1, Informative)
Probable Scam. (Score:5, Insightful)
Breaking down the number,
+ = Standard phone number convention outside the US
00 = International Dialing
1 = North America / Caribbean
819 = Quebec City, Quebec
Unless you know someone in Quebec, I'd recommend you not answer it. Even if they can't rip you off, why let them waste your time and your air time?
Finally, you do realize that even this number may be a complete fake. Thanks to VoIP you can now setup your own inexpensive PBX and manipulate the caller id numbers as you see fit. There are even companies popping up, like this one [star38.com], that offer faked caller id as a service.
Re:Probable Scam. (Score:2)
Re:Probable Scam. (Score:2)
001 - Country code (it's zero-padded to 3 digits)
819 - Area/city/RIN code (go look it up)
It's not uncommon, if you have ANI, to receive the entire number for calls received from other countries now.
Re:Probable Scam. (Score:2)
Re:Probable Scam. (Score:1)
Re:Probable Scam. (Score:2)
Um, the + is synonymous with 00 in international dialing. 0049 == +49, 001 == +1
Oh yes, you're right... my fault.
Re:Probable Scam. (Score:2)
Flames! (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyone who posted an answer, thanks. I've never seen a number like that on my cell before, and I was just curious.
As far as answering goes, why should I waste minutes or risk a scam? Why even post a reply like that? A wise man once told me the only stupid question is the one not asked. And apparently the slashdot mods though it worthy of a green light, so plllbbttt
Re:Flames! (Score:2)
Re:Flames! (Score:2)
Phone (Score:1)
I typically get 000-000-0000 on my cell once a month or so, answering the call makes a really cool 'beep' sound so either I'm being tracked by forces unknown or Sirius Cybernetics works for Verizon.
Sounds like spam (Score:1)
Re:Sounds like spam (Score:2)
International call, maybe? (Score:2)
same wierd thing (Score:1, Interesting)
another possibility (Score:2, Informative)
You insensitive clod! (Score:1)
Don't answer it! (Score:1)
radio earphone slavery (Score:2, Funny)
Of course. This is very smart of you. If you had gotten the notion to pick up the phone and, well, ask who they are, control of your brain would have automatically been siezed by the worldwide deadly Communist Gangster Frankenstein Computer God, [pacifier.com] who controls all of the brain-bank-brains on the far side of the moon that we never see.
Consider yourself lucky.
Basic Rule of Thumb (Score:2)