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Area code 710

en.wikipedia.org

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Re: Area code 710

#41

Post by wolrah »

hellbanner wrote: post #29
yodon wrote: post #20

Earlier 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?).

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.

Re: Area code 710

#42

Post by josh_carterPDX »

michaelgrosner2 wrote: post #25

Is there anywhere else to read more about these kinds of special phone numbers? Something about the current state of phreaking?

I'm sure old issues of 2600 have a lot of articles on phreaking.

I used to red box a lot of old pay phones to get free calls using a tape recorder. Sadly there aren't too many phreaking hacks these days with everything moving to the cloud.

Re: Area code 710

#44

Post by Spooky23 »

schoen wrote: post #12

I remember something in an old Phrack or another hacker zine where someone was recounting a rumor about this mechanism that he heard from someone who worked in a telco (viz., that there were special government phone numbers that were treated differently by the telephone system). It's interesting to see the progression from underground rumor to Wikipedia article.

There used to be a designation for landlines where they would be unlisted and have priority when there was congested outgoing lines or a shutdown.

I had a relative who was a public safety official. It was pretty wacky, they had an old school western electric leased phone, this magic line and other weird features like custom short codes that would hit "internal" extensions in the office.

Re: Area code 710

#45

Post by dismantlethesun »

ceejayoz wrote: post #40
KevinIsMyName wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? The job is a job. I assume they have quite a lot of operators and they are crucial for certain processes which make their fairly simple job - a phone operator - crucial.

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.

Re: Area code 710

#46

Post by grogenaut »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #28

I wonder what it's like being an operator on that line; is it mostly hours or boredom, punctuated by a few phone calls? Or is it actually busy throughout the day?

Have you ever seen what a night security guard does?

Re: Area code 710

#47

Post by reaperducer »

Another odd area code is 500. Back in the 90's, I had a 500 number through AT&T. You could program it to "follow" you. Meaning that if, for example, someone called your number between 9a-5p M-F, it would ring your office. 5p-6p, your car phone. 6p-10p, your home phone, etc...

I suspect it got killed off because so many businesses were switching to cheapo, poorly-made, Winmodem-based PBXes that didn't recognize the area code.

Re: Area code 710

#48

Post by coin »

yodon wrote: post #17

When I was in college in the '80s, My roommate and I got curious about unused area codes (and/or prefixes? I forget). We started dialing some. Within about 15 minutes we stumbled on some government service with a scary-official sounding operator on the other end (I've no idea if it was this service or a different one). The really scary part was after dialing the number and encountering the operator, we were unable to…

How is hanging up (creating an open circuit) different than pulling the relay (creating an open circuit)?

Re: Area code 710

#49

Post by dragonwriter »

reaperducer wrote: post #47

Another odd area code is 500. Back in the 90's, I had a 500 number through AT&T. You could program it to "follow" you. Meaning that if, for example, someone called your number between 9a-5p M-F, it would ring your office. 5p-6p, your car phone. 6p-10p, your home phone, etc... I suspect it got killed off because so many businesses were switching to cheapo, poorly-made, Winmodem-based PBXes that didn't recognize the ar…

> I suspect it got killed off because so many businesses were switching to cheapo, poorly-made, Winmodem-based PBXes that didn't recognize the area code.

No, it was actively blocked (not unrecognized) by lots of places because, like 900, it was caller paid (and, like 900, it saw significant upkeep for phone sex lines.)

AT&T replaced the service you describe with a similar service that was toll-free, and used the 800 area code, which (service, not area code) was also later discontinued.

Re: Area code 710

#50

Post by theWatcher37 »

coin wrote: post #48
yodon wrote: post #17

When I was in college in the '80s, My roommate and I got curious about unused area codes (and/or prefixes? I forget). We started dialing some. Within about 15 minutes we stumbled on some government service with a scary-official sounding operator on the other end (I've no idea if it was this service or a different one). The really scary part was after dialing the number and encountering the operator, we were unable to…

How is hanging up (creating an open circuit) different than pulling the relay (creating an open circuit)?

Sounds like someone had god mode
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