We have our number blocked on our land line phone. Imagine my surprise when I called a merchants 800 number this morning and as soon as the call was answered a computer voice informed me of the status of my order.
So I did some investigating. Seems there's a technique called automatic number identification that's available to any owner of an 800 etc. number. It ignores number blocking.
Sort of destroys the whole purpose, doesn't it?
At least the phone company isn't charging me for the blocking I thought I had :-).
My house phone is multiplexed on my internet and digital cable. Free calls all across the US and Canuckistan. I wonder if I make a friend of mine pay when I call his 800 number. Curious.
Nope. The owner of the 800 number is paying for the call. The only way they can tell if they're paying the correct amount is if they know where the call is coming from.
"CallerID blocking" blocks *only* callerid, not 800-numbe ANI.
If you don't want your number disclosed simply *DON'T*CALL*800* numbers. As long as *YOU* pay for the call, your number won't be given out with callerID blocking.
It's the 'golden rule' in action -- he who has the gold (and pays the bills) gets to decide. ,grin>
You simply misunderstood _what_ you have. You have "CallerID blocking". It works. It *DOES* do what it claims -- blocks delivery of CallerID info - and **ONLY* 'CallerID' info. It does *NOT* block your info when you call 911, as I'm sure you already knew, *if* you'd thought about it.
ANI is a separate system from caller ID and uses different technology. It was developed long before caller ID and is used by the phone companies for routing and billing. No caller can block ANI when making a call but any commercial customer, not just those with an 8xx numbers, can pay a premium to the phone company so they can receive the ANI information on every call. 911 emergency call centers all use ANI to identify who is calling them. Art
My house phone is multiplexed on my internet and digital cable. Free calls all across the US and Canuckistan. I wonder if I make a friend of mine pay when I call his 800 number. Curious.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Depends. Used to be an 800 number could be had for a monthly fee or pay as you go. I'd guess it's still the same.
I see the logic to that - no argument. I guess my complaint is that the phone company doesn't make that clear when someone opts for blocking. In fact, I called the phone company to ask why my number wasn't blocked and was told they had no idea. Hopefully, that was because of a single employee's ignorance, not a company policy.
CallerID blocking does _exactly_ wht it says it does. blocks the delivery of _CallerID_ information.
Would you expect, if you have CallerID blocking on, that '911' would _not_ get your phone number?
See, you _already_ knew that 'callerID blocking' doesn't block *all* delivery of your phone number.
You're just 'surprised' because there are *more* exceptions than you _thought_ there were.
You 'jumped to a conclusion' without hard facts. The telco doesn't tell you that 'callerID blocking' isn't effective when calling 911, but you already -knew- that that was the case. The telco doesn't tell you about other exceptions, and you _assumed_ that there weren't any. with the usual result of 'ass-u-me'ing anything. :)
Toll-free number owners have _always_ gotten the "calling number", even before either ANI or "CalleriD" *existed*. In the old days, they got it, on paper, in the bill at the end of the billing cycle. ANI was a 'minor' enhancement, that simply provided the information in 'real time'.
I'd have to check, but I _believe_ that ANI _predates_ 'CallerID". In it's traditional form, it was available *only* if you have full-blown digital trunk lines (i.e., a "T-1" or above), delivering calls to _your_ switchgear. There _used_ to be a few "CLECs" (competing local- exchange carriers -- not the 'incumbant, the former 'ma bell' company) who offered ANI delivered via callerID technology for folks with _small_ toll-fre operations. I don't know if anybody _still_ does that.
Did you explain you had 'callerID blocking' *AND* were calling a toll-free number? If yes, you did get a poorly informed front-line service rep.
The telco's _are_ very careful as to what they say -- in their marketing, etc. -- about callerID and callerID blocking. Part of it is what they say, and part of it is what they _don't_ day. And they _are_ careful to always say that 'callerID blocking" blocks the delivery of CallerID info. That people who _have_callerID_ will not get your number.
Those who got your number in the past, *without* having callerID, can, will, and *do* get your number _in_the_same_way_, today. Without callerID.
'CallerID' blocking was implemented to provide the _same_ degree of 'privacy' that was available *before* 'callerID' was available 'to the masses'.
It does -not- provide *complete* privacy/anonymity, and you won't find anything in the telco literature promising that it does. -- if you *that* is what you want, use a pay phone. :)
Yes, you _do_. Even a 'local' call to an 800 number costs the 800 number owner. Calls from a 'pay phone' are _much_more_expensive_ to the 800 number operator -- which is why some 800 numbers disallow incoming calls from pay phones.
With most toll-free numbers today, the rates are 'distance independent'. it costs the number owner the same if you're calling from the other side of the street, or the other side of the continent.
As others have said, ANI is available to 800, 888, 877, 866 and any other toll free number protocol users that exist because they are paying for the call. There is no simple way to block ANI when calling an 800 number.
Robort Bonomi - ANI absolutely does pre-date consumer caller ID by the way...
However, it can be done contrary to what Artemus says. It just isn't as simple as paying a few pennies to block your number the same way you do for Caller ID.
The "best" way to block your number is to spoof it with your own private PBX.
there are other ways by redirtecting your call through certain services or operators who re-route your call and thus strip your call of ANI information before it hits the 800 number...
So many details. I suggest searching Google for "ANI blocking", "Spoofing my ANI", "Hiding ANI info", etc.
...And if you are really interested, subscribe to the magazine offered at
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and learn lots about this and other technology stuff. There are books written on this subject - some of which are available through "vendors" listed in the back pages of 2600 magazines. Their magazines are often found in Borders in the technology magazine section. They are smaller than the rest of the offerings there.
Whatever you do, keep it moral. Teach others. Become a leader of the ignorant, not their enemy. Knowledge is power.
There are some free ways to do it also... But they are few and far between these days and probably pseudo-legal or at least pseudo-moral. I'd just use a pay phone... Oh wait, they are all gone for the most part.
For now, just go down to the convenience store or Wally World or Worst Buy or wherever and shell out green money for a prepaid no-contract cell phone. A few states require that you show ID when paying cash for a prepaid cell phone and Schumer is trying to get it required nationally, but it's so far not required in most places. They can still track the phone but they can't trace it to you unless they catch you with it.
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