Well I can't find my number, so I'm imagining no-one else will either!
Apparently 118800 are launching a new directory service for mobile phone numbers.
They've "harvested" millions of mobile numbers and are ready to sell them to anyone who wants them.
Currently, they don't give out numbers, but text your details to the person you're trying to contact. However, they're about to start giving numbers out soon.
If you're unlucky enough to be on their database, you can probably expect to start getting cold callers, but there is an opt out on the 118800 website.
Well I can't find my number, so I'm imagining no-one else will either!
MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
"If you're going to do something tonight, that you know you'll be sorry for in the morning, plan a lie in." Lorraine
I had heard about this after my Mum was sent a potentially scam email - basically text this number (not the 118 800 one) and we'll remove you from the list... who's betting it was a premium number
I was then considering the opt out on the website Gav linked to but decided to wait and see if I got any calls before potentially supplying them with a mobile number they might not have had
hmm opt-out by giving your number to a website that is harvesting mobile numbers...
Well , had a look at that, they had found me so I used opt out service.
And now i am worried that they now have my number to harvest. What can I do to protect myself?
Drop your mobile in a bucket of concrete and drop it into the Abyssal trench.. well if it's good enough for Megatron and his evil decepticons then it's good enough for your mobile phone.
Worst case scenario.. if you get spammed to heck and back you can speak to your provider and get a new number. I did this once and was relatively painless.. I just needed to let friends know my new number.
I started getting offensive calls from a random sod who'd either found my number somewhere or just typed one in randomly.
but that's worst case scenario.
i'm put in mind of the Rowan Atkinson sketch on Not the 9 o'clock news - a new type of house phone with a large red flashing light on the top so that he, as a deaf man, knew to answer it.
"hello...hello! hello! HELLO." etc...
A company will begin offering a directory service from next week that allows people to find the mobile phone numbers of people they don't know.
Run by 118800, it will cost £1 and use databases of numbers it said are freely available for purchase and in the public domain.
Anyone searching for a number can type the name and location of the person into the 118800 website.
It claims to have some 15m numbers in its database.
Privacy campaigners have been angered by the system despite it getting the all-clear from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
The ICO ruled that the system did comply with current law and was little different from companies who use such contact lists for cold calling.
It said that opting out of the service should be made easy for those not wanting their details to be used in the directory.
If you don't want to be included in the database you can opt out click here and choose Ex-directory.
Last edited by Brian Doolan; 8th-July-2009 at 05:52 PM.
I've moved this across into the other thread on this topic that we had a few weeks ago.
Love dance, will travel
When you type in pink, is that you talking in a moderator's voice David? If so can I suggest that you also adopt a comedy accent (perhaps a Scottish one). So in this case you could have perhaps put:
't dinnie balang here, s'ave shift'd it t'ear!! T'meeks far more sense noo. Do y'av a problem wi' tha pal?I feel that this would perhaps serve to defuse potentially volatile situations and has nothing to do with the fact that it would make me laugh very very much
No problem.
That's the idea, yes. I think the other moderators used to use it quite frequently (although I'm not sure I picked the right shade of pink).
I'm still waiting for "English (Pirate)" to appear in the list of options in Google Language Tools...
Love dance, will travel
Seems a bizare mix of geordie and yorkshire with a hint of drunken scotsman.
I got yet another email about this this morning and had to restrain myself from sending abuse in return...
Problems with this email?You may already have heard about this but early next week all UK mobiles will be on a directory which will mean that anyone will be able to access your numbers. It's easy to unsubscribe but it must be done before the beginning of next week to make sure that you are ex-directory. You may want to suggest it to all your friends and family who have UK mobiles or they could be swamped by unsolicited messages and calls. Removal is recommended by the BBC - see link below.
Its not ALL uk mobiles.
Not just anyone can access your number - they need to have some of your details to search for you.
You will not be swamped by calls because the company say they will always send a text first - which you can of course ignore (or block all calls from 118800).
You could be swamped by unsolicited text messages in theory, but what company is going to pay £1 a time to make an unsolicited call - not to mention the fact that 118800 say they will NOT give your number out to companies.
Removal is not specifically recommended by anyone, and if you do try to remove yourself it will cost you a text message. Plus you are freely giving them your number to add to their ex-directory list, they may promise to block calls to your number but you are still freely giving it to them - do you normally give out your mobile number to strangers?
bah...Scaremongering nonsense
I found this blog article on the BBC website interesting...
Love dance, will travel
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