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Strange Numbers on Caller ID?

Posted by Cliff on from the forewarned-is-forearmed dept.

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?

3 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Why don't you just answer? by semaj · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... and ask them?

    Or you could of course ask 100,000 other people who have no real idea what you're talking about, of course.

    --
    Meep meep
  2. Could also be long distance calling card or VoIP by aoteoroa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anecdotal evidence:
    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.

  3. Not a scam... Just a shoddy carrier. by jaredcat · · Score: 5, Informative

    What you are experiencing is someone calling you through a carrier that does not properly populate the CLI and ANI fields in the SS7 (or ISDN) message to the terminating carrier.

    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.