# Phoning Yourself **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351 "2000-08-14T20:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![c-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@c-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c-man)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/21 "2000-08-15T05:29:04Z")
This trick works (at least here in Houston): dial 380 . It will send you back the number you’re calling from. Useless trick, but amusing for about 4 seconds. c-man ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/22 "2000-08-15T05:34:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lance Turbo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Jophiel \* > > \*\* > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > Sidenote, I have never been in an area code where 867-5309 was connected to a real phone. > > > > Hell, just make it a hijack: > > > > Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc…\*\* > > “Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc.” mine. > > There is no way in hell that I believe this story. > > No offence. Feel free to imagine as many smilies as neccessary to make you believe that I mean no offense. \*\* in the 505 area code (New Mexico), 867 is the exchange for the town of Bernalillo, and that is an active number (or was, before I moved to the east coast) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/23 "2000-08-15T06:02:32Z")
Trust me, if I was going to start a career of lying on the SDMB, I’d start with a _much_ cooler story than that. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/24 "2000-08-15T06:42:12Z")
When I was a kid it was a 5-digit no. that they changed occasionally so that only phone co. people would know it. I’ve never gotten anything but a busy signal when dialing the no. that I was calling from. In my area 555-xxxx no.s are phone booths. Many of them won’t ring, however, to discourage drug dealers from using them as message centers. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/25 "2000-08-15T06:46:11Z")
Oh yeah… Long-distance Information is (areacode) 555-1212. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/26 "2000-08-15T07:10:39Z")
Re: 867-5309. [MP3.com](http://MP3.com) says > [@](#): > > Story Behind The Song > Tommy Tutone: 867-5309/Jenny > (…) > Lead singer Tommy Heath told Retro Rewind about the song: > > “There was a young lady who mixed sound in a club in California and she gave me her phone number to give to my partner and guitarist Jim Keller, and I wrote it on the bathroom wall. We laughed about that later, and they went out a couple of times. He ended up writing a song about it with Alex Call. She was a good sport about it, but she did change her number. So there really is a Jenny, and she’s a very nice woman. It was > a real phone number; the area code was in the San Jose area. We apologize to all the people in the country who had that phone number and whose lives we may have wrecked.” > > Bonus: During the song’s chart run People Magazine thought they would give the band a taste of their own medicine by running their actual home numbers in one of their issues. I live in San Jose (408 area code), and my prefix is 867, so I know that end of the story is possible. I’ve never dialed the number. Hey, great practical joke: dial all the 408 867-xxxx numbers and tell the recipient, “Bill H. you suck!” Also, back on track: The numbers you call that tell you what number you are calling from are called Automatic Numbering Identification or “ANI” numbers. They are different in different places. A few I know of that are active in the Bay Area: 211 2244 211 4567 1010732 14123693106 Also, check out [http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/5129/codes1.htm](http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/5129/codes1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/27 "2000-08-15T11:25:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I live in San Jose (408 area code), and my prefix is 867, so I know that end of the story is possible. I’ve never dialed the number. > Hey, great practical joke: dial all the 408 867-xxxx numbers and tell the recipient, “Bill H. you suck!” I was gonna say that it was an active prefix in San Jose. Never knew the story behind the song though, really a cool tidbit. Also, dialing 971-xxxx for a ringback will not work in San Jose, because…it’s **My Prefix!** So, dialing a 971-xxxx number in Cali will only prompt you for a 1 and an area code to continue. 🙂 -Sam ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/28 "2000-08-15T14:00:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jophiel \* > \*\*Trust me, if I was going to start a career of lying on the SDMB, I’d start with a _much_ cooler story than that. \*\* Scenario 1 Someone has the phone number 867-5309. People call her all the time. Instead of getting her number changed, she leaves a five minute long outgoing message rant that tells callers to get lives and stop bugging her. Therefore, even people who have a real reason to call her (e.g. her grandmother) have to listen to that vituperative message before leaving a message of their own. That makes a lot of sense. Scenario 2 You said that it was actually your friend that called the number. Maybe it was even a friend of a friend. Somewhere a long the line someone lied to you. That makes a lot more sense. I never said you were lying. I only said that I didn’t believe your story. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/29 "2000-08-15T14:32:41Z")
Lance wrote: “Therefore, even people who have a real reason to call her (e.g. her grandmother) have to listen to that vituperative message before leaving a message of their own.” Not necessarily, Lance. My folks have an answering machine that allows callers “in the know” (like my siblings and I) to hit the # sign on our phone while their message is playing to skip over their outgoing message and go straight to the “beep.” ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/30 "2000-08-15T16:00:52Z")
Okay, the reason I said 555 is because all films, sitcoms, tv programs, etc, use 555…don’t any of you notice? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/31 "2000-08-15T16:18:24Z")
The short answer is it’s different in every area. Try the [alt.2600 FAQ](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/alt-2600/faq/), section C-12: What is a ringback number? ---
**Author:** ![Pandora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eada6e/32.png) [@Pandora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandora)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/32 "2000-08-15T16:20:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > Okay, the reason I said 555 is because all films, sitcoms, tv programs, etc, use 555…don’t any of you notice? 🙂 \*\* This used to be true… but it doesn’t seem to hold up any more. I haven’t seen anyone on TV or in the movies use 555-\* in the last few years. Here is Philly, 555-1212 is information, and there are other “555” numbers that are “service” numbers of various kinds. I think the phone company may be moving towards placing 555 back in circulation for standard telephone numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/33 "2000-08-15T16:49:25Z")
Well, never let it be said that I have too much time on MY hands. 867-5309 either rang, gave a busy signal (not a fast busy - a normal busy), gave an answering machine, or a fax number in all 6 of the area codes in this area. Yes, we have way too many area codes, yes it is a big pain the the rear. 555-1212 around here gets you information. 555-1111 gets you information. 555-9999 gets you information. 555-Biteme gets you information (I’ve always wanted to do that!) ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/34 "2000-08-16T03:56:16Z")
When I was in junior high, somebody showed me the ringback (99?-last four digits) trick, though I can’t remember what the third digit was supposed to be. It only seemed to work on payphones. On especially dull days, I would ask the teacher to use the can, get a hall pass, and then haul ass to every last one of the fifteen or so payphones scattered throughout the school (this was before fear of student drug dealers led to their removal). It frustrated the security guards to no end… empty halls, silent save the incessant ringing echoing through the buildings. It also proved to be a good diversion that let me enjoy a Camel in the boy’s room in peace. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/35 "2000-08-16T05:02:20Z")
Ok… last time I’m going to reply to this since it’s turning from a hijack into a gunfight (or something). My friend dialed the number. I stood next to him. I listened on the speaker phone. Message was as described. This was right as all those 80’s albums starting hitting the TV commercials 24 hours a day, so for every hour of television you watched, you were sure to hear a snippet of the song at least once. If you have any other questions, I suggest you start dialing 867-5309 on every area code until you find her and ask her yourself about it. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/36 "2000-08-16T06:58:29Z")
In LA (at least, when I was growing up), it was “991199”, if I recall correctly (it WASN’T seven numbers). And no, the “1199” was not the last four digits of my number. ---
**Author:** ![Fernmeldetruppe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Fernmeldetruppe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fernmeldetruppe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/37 "2000-08-16T07:37:06Z")
I can’t add to the original post, but as of July, 711 will be used for access to TRS (Telecommunications Relay Services) throughout the US. [http://www.fcc.gov/cib/trs.html](http://www.fcc.gov/cib/trs.html) [http://www.fcc.gov/711/](http://www.fcc.gov/711/) Also, you can often dial any NXX-9997 number and hear a 1 kHz tone. It used to constantly repeat intself, but the the local telephone companies have been shortening it to 2 seconds recently and/or getting rid of it. I don’t why it was originally used but it can be used to gauge the quality of your connection. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/38 "2000-08-16T08:04:28Z")
Since the link above to the alt.2600 faq is only a pointer to the first part of the faq, which doesn’t include the answer to the question, here’s a link to the section which lists a bunch of known ringback numbers for various areas. [http://www.jssquires.freeserve.co.uk/a2600/faq/c/c-13.htm](http://www.jssquires.freeserve.co.uk/a2600/faq/c/c-13.htm) Question for phone weenies: how does this apply to phones behind a PBX, if at all? How about cellphones? ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/39 "2000-08-16T09:14:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DRY \* > \*\*In LA (at least, when I was growing up), it was “991199”, if I recall correctly (it WASN’T seven numbers). And no, the “1199” was not the last four digits of my number. \*\* I believe I screwed this up: Upon further reflection, it may have been “119911”, and not vice versa. :eek: I’ll have to test it (both variations) and see if it still works. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351/40 "2000-08-16T09:19:48Z")
Oh, also try [http://www.phonelosers.org](http://www.phonelosers.org) for another zine-type of phreak site. -Sam [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phoning-yourself/29351.md?page=3)