There's lots of good lore about stuff like this in phreaker circles. I remember a story about someone who supposedly found some listings of 710 numbers including things like the presidents bunker and such. The folks answering the phones for some of these numbers were not amused and were also caught off guard by calls from kids asking to talk to the president and such.
Area code 710
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Re: Area code 710
#52Is there anywhere else to read more about these kinds of special phone numbers? Something about the current state of phreaking?
Re: Area code 710
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
My recollection is we were specifically curious about what today would be called invalid address space patterns, aka numbers that were outside the patterns used in valid phone numbers at the time (such as area codes could have a 1 in the middle digit but prefixes could not have a 1 in the middle in the 1980's). We pulled out a paper phone book, devised a set of criteria for potentially interesting superficially inval…
Here's a fun one: next time you get a new phone number (USA), ask for it to end in "9999". It's possible, but not without social engineering (or influence?).
Telco used to charge extra for vanity numbers. c2000 I paid Qwest a few hundred for one.
Re: Area code 710
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure, but now they're getting dozens of calls from curious HNers.
Why would people call? It's not a mystery what happens---they'll ask you for the access code, and do nothing else if you don't provide it. It'd be a waste of time to call them.
I don't think you understand the breadth of legitimate responses to your "why" question. Lots of us called.
Re: Area code 710
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's a fun one: next time you get a new phone number (USA), ask for it to end in "9999". It's possible, but not without social engineering (or influence?).
When I last got a new cell number I got one ending in "5555" Annoyingly I use Google Voice so something like 6 people actually know my awesome number.
you can port out your number to google voice....
Re: Area code 710
#56At&t used to create new prospects for long distance by comparing both numbers in a call to its customers database.
If a number was not an active customer it was put in an outbound call list to solicit long distance.
The best story i remember was when the navy wanted to know why we called one of their nuclear submarines. This implied that the right 10 random digits contacted a sub.
Re: Area code 710
#57Re: Area code 710
#58The article mentions that individuals placing calls though GETS, with a valid access code, receive "alternate carrier routing, high probability of completion, trunk queuing and exemptions from network management controls". I find this fascinating, and it's hard not to wonder if any (rough) equivalent exists for government-related internet traffic. As in, perhaps some special/cryptographic data can be provided in network traffic data that ensures higher-priority treatment in an emergency or crisis, like GETS. Can anyone enlighten me here?
Re: Area code 710
#59Every time I see posts like this on HN, I feel obligated to post http://www.evan-doorbell.com/production/ I originally discovered this guy from HN and the audio recordings on that site are mesmerizing to me.
That was interesting, a telecom museum should make sure these recordings don't go missing.
Re: Area code 710
#60Area code 710 is a special area code, reserved to the federal government of the United States in 1983. As of December 2006, it had only one working number, 710-NCS-GETS (710-627-4387), which requires a special access code to use. See Government Emergency Telecommunications Service for more information on this service.