Toll Free Numbers on your Caller ID

11/24/2007

caller id sampleWhen a toll free number shows up on your caller id, it’s not there because the caller is calling you on a toll free number. Toll Free Numbers CAN’T make outbound calls. Think of them like remote call forwarded numbers that just forward callers to another local number.

When a toll free number shows up on your caller ID, it means that the caller is calling from a larger phone system that allows the caller to program the caller ID information. So do NOT take this as proof that the caller is actually connected with that number or that this number will reach the same people. It is against the regulations to program someone else’s number into the caller ID information, but that obviously doesn’t phase the people that are involved with any type of scam.

Just because they have a toll free number on their caller ID certainly doesn’t prove they’re doing anything nefarious, but it does tell you that they are probably in some type of call center and are often telemarketers. Your friends don’t have toll free numbers on their caller ID, even if they have a toll free number. So when I see an 800 number on the caller ID, I don’t give out my name or any information.

If you have a toll free number and still want to put that on the caller ID, you may need to get a large PBX phone system that allows you to program that. Some voip virtual pbx’s may allow you to program that too, but this is a hardware issue, not a service provider question.

(I saw another post about caller ID and realized I should include that answer here for everyone.)

See also WhoCalled.us for more help knowing who is calling from the caller ID and a Wiki post about Caller ID Spoofing.

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