# What's with this wierd number I got a call from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2019, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451 "2019-06-13T00:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/21 "2019-06-14T15:54:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I still hear ads in the radio with phone number with too many digits, so I believe that is still true. See: the obnoxious Kars 4 Kids. It sounds like the latest version of the jingle drops the final “s,” but that’s still one too many digits. I remember an old “In Living Color” sketch that was a spoof of those “psychic hotline” ads. The guy says something like “Call 1-900-RufusKnowsTheFuture… but quit dialing after the first seven letters.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/22 "2019-06-14T16:03:30Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > . . but vanishingly unlikely that I’d ever get a valid call from an unknown number in the area code of my phone number. Why–are you in the Witness Protection Program or something? Why wouldn’t someone from the area where you used to live call you now? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/23 "2019-06-14T16:52:04Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Why–are you in the Witness Protection Program or something? Why wouldn’t someone from the area where you used to live call you now? I think you overlooked the “unknown number” part in what I said. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/24 "2019-06-14T19:40:03Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I think you overlooked the “unknown number” part in what I said. Well, no, I didn’t. An unknown number is an unknown number, regardless of the area code. If I move to a new area code, I’m just as likely to get a call–from, let’s say, a friend who has changed their phone number–from the old area code as the new one, (unless I have broken off ties with everyone from that old area). But I get your overall point: Living in a different area code does provide one data point about an unknown number. For me, though–in that situation–I just wouldn’t be able to say with such absolute certainty that it couldn’t be a person with whom I actually do want to communicate. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/25 "2019-06-15T15:54:28Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember an old “In Living Color” sketch that was a spoof of those “psychic hotline” ads. The guy says something like “Call 1-900-RufusKnowsTheFuture… but quit dialing after the first seven letters.” 😃 Ages ago, before ten-digit dialing, the local paper’s want ad department number was 444-4444 The radio ads had a jingle that ended with, “Dial four, four, four; four four, four four,” then the announcer broke in with, “If that’s too difficult to remember, just keep punching four until somebody answers.” ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/26 "2019-06-15T16:48:01Z")
I once (possibly twice) got a call where the caller ID was my own name and number. Since anyone with caller ID would (one hopes) know this is not a legit ID, I figured they thought the novelty factor might have people answering. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/27 "2019-06-15T23:56:26Z")
Is anybody getting daily calls from a variety of countries, all of which were formerly in Yugoslavia? Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia… I’ve never answered one. Anybody know what these are all about? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/28 "2019-06-16T00:28:33Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > I once (possibly twice) got a call where the caller ID was my own name and number. Since anyone with caller ID would (one hopes) know this is not a legit ID, I figured they thought the novelty factor might have people answering. That’s a common scammer technique, and I get that all the time. I’m not sure what the intention is; perhaps they think you will notice only the first few digits, but not the last four. This is called a “neighborhood spoof.” > [@Spiderman](#): > > … Any extra digits entered before the call picks up on the other side are just ignored with tone dialing\*. The exception is a spacer like a comma. A comma is a 3(?) second delay… I think you are referring to the Hayes modem code for the comma. This was an instruction used by the [Hayes command set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_command_set). It was not transmitted to the phone line, but would cause the modem to pause for a (configurable) time between commands. Whether modern cellphones implement this command set, I don’t know, but I doubt it. What would be the point? > [@](#): > > - with old fashioned pulse/rotary phone dialing, extra #s would terminate the call. Not in my experience. Extra digits would be ignored, as the phone exchange isn’t listening for anything after the significant digits had been processed. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2019, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/29 "2019-06-16T05:19:29Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Well, no, I didn’t. An unknown number is an unknown number, regardless of the area code. If I move to a new area code, I’m just as likely to get a call–from, let’s say, a friend who has changed their phone number–from the old area code as the new one… Well, that’s not my experience. For me, by far the most frequent unknown numbers that are genuine callers are people who I have some local business relationship with - a nurse from the doctor’s office calls; a plumber I have booked calls to say he’s on the way over. Often the caller id in these cases is not the main office number. I think this is true for most people, and this is exactly why the spam callers spoof numbers from your local area code. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451/30 "2019-06-16T12:13:34Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I think you are referring to the Hayes modem code for the comma. This was an instruction used by the [Hayes command set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_command_set). It was not transmitted to the phone line, but would cause the modem to pause for a (configurable) time between commands. Whether modern cellphones implement this command set, I don’t know, but I doubt it. What would be the point? My previous landline phone had this capability built into the phone. I programmed it similar to the other poster with preloading my VM numbers with the appropriate pauses. My new one might also but I never bothered to set it up if it does. > [@](#): > > Not in my experience. Extra digits would be ignored, as the phone exchange isn’t listening for anything after the significant digits had been processed. I agree with this. I’ve used redial after I’ve been into the labyrinth of selections at banks or other businesses and get dropped or lost so that I need to start over. I always have to start at the beginning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-this-wierd-number-i-got-a-call-from/835451.md?page=1)