Friday, October 17, 2008

WhoCallsMe?

I have "calling number display" enabled on my home phone line.  This is
useful not only for call screening, but also if I'm out and miss a call.
The phone records the number along with the date and time.  Obviously
there are some cases where the feature doesn't work: private numbers are
not displayed, and calls from overseas are displayed as "unavailable".

Last week I googled the number for a missed call and found that it was a
local real estate agent.  I'm glad I missed that one.  Then yesterday I
missed another call.  When I searched for it (08 8243 9200), there
wasn't anything conclusive.  But Google did return a link on a site
called WhoCallsMe?:
  <http://whocallsme.com/>

According to the site:
"This is a user supplied database of phone numbers of telemarketers,
 non-profit organizations, charities, political surveyors, SCAM artists,
 and other companies that don't leave messages, disconnect once you
 answer, ignore the Do-Not-Call List regulations, and simply interrupt
 your day."

And bingo!, the number of yesterday's missed call is in the database:
  <http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/0882439200>

It seems this could be a dodgy number, so I guess I can ignore it :)