Talk:Caller ID

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--Misleading/Incorrect Information-- This article suggests that caller name (or cnam) and telephone number id are the same service. They are not. Telephone number ID is a standard SS7 service that displays the ANI or calling number. CNAM requires an SS7 query to a database of names associated with those numbers. This is why it's common in many areas to view the number of a caller, but not the name, or possibly receive city/state or "anonymous" as a name. The two are related by SS7, but they are not the same service.

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[edit] Spoofing and falsification

In August 2004, a company called Star38 announced that it would offer a service in the U.S., which would allow subscribers to falsify the name and/or number they are calling from. The idea came from hackers, who have been using VoIP to spoof numbers as pranks. The vulnerability comes from the trust-based design of caller ID, whereby the telephone exchange receiving the call trusts the sending exchange to provide the correct number, and the sender trusts the receiver to keep the number private, if it is indicated as a blocked or anonymous number.

The exploit uses digital telephone lines of private branch exchanges, which have been able to alter their outgoing CID information for years because they are a "trusted" part of the CID system. Likewise, they can also ignore the "private number" flag for incoming calls. Star38 will allow subscribers to have this information passed along to their own phones, and will be controlled via the web. Star38 says it will limit the service to private investigators, collection agencies and the like, and will charge 20$ per month and 7~10¢ per minute.

There is some useful information here, but if it is in the US, why not put it in the automatic number identification article. 'Announced' is really enough to warrant a mention, and no one needs the advert. -- Solipsist 19:12, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I actually came here today to see how updated Wikipedia was on this. Apparently the guy between Star38 has decided to sell his business after 3 days online. He claims that he received death threats from hackers opposing commercialization of this technology / vulnerability. I think that the section should be structured the other way around. It should first discuss the spoofing technique was discovered and when it was first publicly demonstrated (I know that it was demonstrated at the H.O.P.E. conference in New York in June/July). Then, it should move on to talk about Star38's commercial implementation of the technique. — David Remahl 23:10, 4 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Interesting. The trouble is that this information is a little tangential to explaining what callerID is. However, it sounds like there is enough here for an article on 'caller ID spoofing' itself and link from this page - it sounds like it is a continuation of the history of phone phreaking. -- Solipsist 22:21, 5 Sep 2004 (UTC)


[edit] *67

Why am I redirected to this page when I type in *67? The page makes absolutely no mention of it. —preceding unsigned comment by 69.117.180.164 (talk • contribs)

Good question. Looking at the history of the redirect page, it was originally redirected to Last Call Return then switched to point here. At a guess this is a code some telcos use to return the CallerID of the last call received (in the UK the code is usually 1471). I'm not sure it is a particularly good redirect to have it would probably be better to have these codes in a table on one page with links to pages describing the appropriate services and some explanation of the telco's / territories where they are used.

[edit] See Also

There seems to be a lot of text in the "See-Also" section. Wouldn't it be better to put most of this into appropriate sections? Perhaps I will when I get time. The Slimey 20:03, 19 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Too much material in the introduction

There's way too much material in the introduction, i.e., before the first section break, appearing before the table of contents. It seems to launch directly into a technical history of the implementation of this feature. Instead, the introduction should be a short definition of the term, plus maybe a short summary of the most important information imparted in the article. --Teemu Leisti 22:04, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I noted that, and split it up into more managable chunks, but the article is still way too heavy on the technical jargon. Aaack. I would rewrite the entire article, but as I don't know much about Caller ID, I'll leave that task to the technical expert. Hbdragon88 06:34, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Looks better now. --Teemu Leisti 15:10, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
Still too top-heavy to me. Telemarketing-specific information seems to deserve its own subheading, and move it out of intro. Also several issues related to CID and telemarketing could be added, such as legal requirements (in the US) that CID can not be blocked, and use of CID-base advertising. I also agree with the sense that there is too much technical info intertwined in the general information. I would propose a separate heading of "Technical Information" and move history and tech info under that. I volunteer to clean it up next month unless I see some objections. --NoBiggie 16:40, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
Seeing no objections, I have cleaned up things, and moved the overly-technical information out of the intro (added by Ss7guru). I also deleted the paragraph 10 also added by Ss7guru which lacked neutrality and was really an unsupported plug for the telemarketing industry to be allowed to spoof. I added a "Legal" section with citations. Rather than one giant edit, I'll come back later and do more cleanup. NoBiggie 15:05, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why *67 *82

Of all the numbers availabee, why were *67 and *82 chosen for blocking and unblocking caller id. 82 represents letters UB which could be short for Un Block, but not sure what 67 would be No Send? Anyone know how these got chosen?

[edit] Definition of "hacking"

"Using services like Vonage or Skype, calling from a payphone, or using a calling card are easy means to fool caller ID." How on earth does this constitute hacking the caller id system? At most it is circumventing. Shouldn't the header be changed? Nichlas 10:14, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Duplicate section?

  • 67 is mentioned both in blocking and disabling with very similar wording. Is this duplication necessary?

[edit] Much confusion over CID, CLI, ANI, CPN, Caller Name, CNAM, etc.

In this wiki page and many others I have seen, there seems to be much confusion over the difference between these items. I'd like to see some consensus on the proper use of these terms. It's inconsistent use is, in my opinion, one of the reason a lot of these articles are more confusing than they need to be. I'd be happy to grab my SS7 manuals to help. To start:

CPN (aka CgPN) = Calling Party Number. This is the directory number assigned to the person who makes the call.

CLI = Calling Line Identity. The phone number used for Caller ID service. This is almost always the CPN of the caller.

Billing Number = This is the phone number of the party responsible for origination billing for the call. On a typical home residential POTS service, the Billing Number and Calling Party Number are the same number. However, on multi-line systems and more complex systems, Billing Number and Calling Party Number are often different.

Billing Account Number = This is a customer ID used for billing telephone services. Historical telephone companies use a real phone number for this. Some use a "false" 10-digit number that is in the form of a telephone number. Other use a BAN that does not appear to be like a telephone number. For some telephone companies Billing Account Number and Billing Number are the same thing. On some they are not. The key here is that a Billing Number is always a real routable telephone number. A Billing Account Number might or might not be a telephone number, depending on the telephone company.

Caller ID = It is a service where the CLI is sent to the person receiving the call.

CND = Calling Number Delivery (CND) a the technical SS7 service that is often used for moving Caller ID information (CLI, PI, etc.) along with the call. (Until VOIP came around, SS7's CND was pretty much the _only_ way to get Caller ID.)

CID = CLASS code name for Caller ID service. (need to absolutely verify this one.)

ANI = Automatic Number Identification. This is a historic service similar to caller id, but sends Billing Number not CLI. It also often includes sending other information such as DNIS (dialed digits.)

Caller Name = This is a service. It passes a text description of the CLI.

CNAM = This is a 15 character text field used in Caller Name service. I've also seen it refer to CLASS feature code for Caller Name. This is confusing if standard. I recommend saying "caller name delivery" when referring to the service.

Presentation Indicator = this is data indicating whether caller id service should be blocked.

There are actually dozens more terms, but I'll stop here. If wanting more, pick up a Newtons Telecom Dictionary.

I suspect some confusion stems from common mis-use. It's common to hear: "I saw your caller id on my phone." It is more correct to say "I saw your phone number on my phone's display." Or if you want to be technical: "I saw your CLI on my phone (due to CID service.)"

I also suspect some of the confusion is because many PBX vendors, who should know better, also mix up the terms. They say stuff like "this allows you to get the ANI". They should be saying "this allows you to get Billing Number through the ANI service." Even worse: sometimes the PBX vendors mix up ANI and caller ID services; which are entirely different services.

Why is this important? Because the engineers are speaking slightly different language than your everyday person. It's only slightly different which means that the common reader is somewhat confused but not entirely sure why.

I realize that Wikipedia is not the same thing as a Dictionary, but recommend:

  • Start using the terms consistently throughout all articles.
  • Include some quick intros for the terms at the beginning. Something short and clarifying.
  • Either don't redirect "Caller Line Identification" to this particular page, or explain the difference between CLI and Caller ID right at the top of the article. Caller ID sends CLI. They are related, yes, but not the same thing.

And lastly, if you ever hear someone say "caller id sends ANI", please send them to this discussion page. ANI is a service, not a data item that can be sent. And it's not related to caller ID.

Discuss? SeptemberWizard (talk) 21:37, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

EXCELLENT! I agree. I have avoided trying to improve this article in the past because of this issue. The article actually contains several inaccuracies that are difficult to explain because a great number of people do not accurately understand all the terms defined above. A notable example is "Caller ID is also known as calling line identification (CLI) when provided via an ISDN connection to a PABX," (the beginning of the main part of the article). Part of the Caller ID service is the delivery technique - modem communication between the 1st and 2nd rings of an analog POTS line. Hence, the references to ISDN and a PABX are totally erroneous when discussing Caller ID. I suspect the confusion comes from the lack of understanding about the difference between the Caller ID and ANI services. ANI, today, is typically delivered over an ISDN PRI to a PABX.
One additional point (and not as important for the discussion above), you implicitly defined DNIS as "dialed digits". I don't have a telecom dictionary handy but I suspect you will find that it to is a service not a data item, Dialed Number Identification Service. Many people refer to the data item as "the DNIS (infomation)" or "the dialed digits" but I don't recall which, if either, is correct. Historically, the service delivered the actual dialed digits but today it typically delivers an identifier, a collection of digits derived from the dialed number. Like ANI, it too is typically delivered over an ISDN PRI to a PABX. Bellhead (talk) 02:16, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

What does INTERNATIONAL OUT OF AREA MEAN?