Subject: Nuisance phone calls - Null messages on an answerphone ?
From: Questioner@
Sender: Questioner@

	I append  http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/std/nuisance_phone_calls.asc

Someone asked what to do about nuisance phone calls, & 
Null messages on an answerphone etc.

Standard reply:

Some clubs have loonies. If you've helped run a club, it may be club loonies.

Been to any shadey singles bars lately ?

Broken up with anyone lately ?
I've heard of lousey blokes, after a girl gave them the shove, stick
bits of paper in phone boxes
	"For a good time phone The-Girl's-First-Name 123456"

Sold anyone a dodgey insurance policy ? 
or other grudge match clubs/ business/ personal issues ?

Sometimes business people just type wrong number into data base &
computer automated calling does the rest.

I guess (just as if you ever answer/ click on a spam email, they
may sell your address to other spammers as a live contact), so with
phone questionaires: don't answer, they may sell you on.

Not just humans mis-dial: Sometimes a memory phone can dial the
wrong number, (one of mine did on one button).

Sometimes phone exchanges mis-route.

If there's heavy breathing or dodgey silence, they say blowing a
whistle tends to put off perverts.  In these liberated days, a
pervert who fancie you, or fancies annoying you,
may not even be of the gender one first guesses.

Thieves may try to figure times people are out, to rob a place.

Could be a bored kid, mayve in another time zone, which may explain
strange times.

Summary: Could be any daft/ weird/ bored human on the planet.  
Or any daft computer with a modem / call unit.

Caller ID on reception costs a few pounds more per month in Britain.
& is available on Analogue lines, does Not need tbe ISDN.

Deutsche Telekom sell phones with caller ID display, (certainly for ISDN).

Whether number remains recorded after caller finishes would depend on
exchange & phone.  British Telecom exchanges can show last
number that called you.

Some people have a permanent record 'cos ISDN PBX (English) =
TK-Anlage (German) = Local Call Office (American) keeps a permament
log PC can display.

(German logs tend to have last digits supressed by law)

Even ex directory doesnt help.

I get occasional calls even to my fax numbers, that arent faxes.
Even to my unpublished 2nd fax no.

Sometime its robot dialer "youve won a million" scams.

Some scam companies have phoned various of my numbers that were
never published, I guess random dialing, or maybe someone in phone
company sold numbers.

If it becomes persistent, report to police &/or change phone number.

Modern phone exchanges allow a lot easier trace back of criminals,
pervert etc calls than old exchanges used to provide.