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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| What carrier controls your phone number? A few folks privately have spot checked the veracity of the results from this site, and they have been 100% clean. Thanks to those who have done the testing! (And thanks to the owner of the site for permission to publicize it!) This is the only free online resource I'm aware of that will lookup the underlying CLEC post-porting and show you the registered Caller ID name info. Lots of folks have been looking for a site like this ... I have no idea what you can do with this info other than make a pest of yourself, but nonetheless here it is... »www.tnid.org Fill in the phone number in the box at top right, then press enter. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE in the process of making a pest of yourself, do not reveal the site name to any carrier you are complaining to. We don't want the owner of the site to be bombarded with requests or demands to shut it down. | |
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Eat Me
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? That's interesting. You can also get data about your area/prefix from www.localcallingguide.com and www.telcodata.us (although I think the latter now charges a fee for their data) | |
| | 
telcodata
@clearrate.com | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? telcodata.us only charges for bulk downloads, the website is as free as it always was. | |
| garys_2k
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
·Vonage
| Interesting. It shows my home number is now controlled by MCI Worldcom Communications, which is not the provider that F9 used for porting that number to them. IIRC, F9 uses Verizon.
So, I'm not sure what to do with this -- start asking MCI to update the CNAM record or pass this off as a mistake (due to conflicting info. wrt F9's DID port)?
Anyway, very cool tool. Thanks! | |
| |
RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by garys_2k  :So, I'm not sure what to do with this Do nothing with it. There's nothing to do. You are not a customer of the underlying provider, so they have no obligation to talk to you or respond to any inquiry. In your case, know that MCI used to be an independent company but is now a division of Verizon. So your results are accurate. | |
| | | garys_2k
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Ah, thank you, that explains it. | |
| | | garys_2k
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? I don't think the database is kept up to date wrt corporate name changes. Likely a good thing, as that would be more than a full time job.  | |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
1 edit | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? name changes in industry databases tend to be the responsibility of the provider, not the owner of the database. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there were results that said "General Telephone" instead of Verizon, or Comtel or United or Sprint instead of Embarq or the new owner CenturyTel.
As I implied earlier, there is nothing substantive that an individual can do with this info. | |
| voipdabbler
join:2006-04-27
Kalispell, MT
| Truthfully, this is why technology--especially databases-- really isn't our friend. Now I see how telemarketers are finding data to spam us via cell phones. This database has cellphone numbers and cell phone information. I don't particularly like this data being out there. Given that, unlike land lines, you're charged for incoming cellular calls, I think the default rule on publishing cell phone info should be that it's banned unless the cell phone owner consents to his/her number being published. | |
|
Mr Privacy
@anonymouse.org
| PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE in the process of making a pest of yourself, do not reveal the site name to any carrier you are complaining to. We don't want the owner of the site to be bombarded with requests or demands to shut it down. We don't? While this can be a useful site for looking up info on your own numbers, my fear is that it will be misused by others who wish to see what name is associated with a particular Caller ID. Granted you have to enter a captcha first, so it's not like the scam artists can do significant damage at fist, but still, I could imagine some phone scammer getting the bright idea to hire people in some third-world country to just go through this thing, fill in the captchas and associate names with numbers for say 50 cents an hour, making a lovely telco-provided list of names and numbers INCLUDING UNLISTED ONES that could possibly be used for mischief of various types.
As useful as it is, I'm just not sure this info should be available to anyone with a web browser. It's one thing to have a Caller ID name sent when you call someone, quite another for anyone in the world to just be able to look up the name associated with a number with just a few keystrokes. | |
| |
RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by Mr Privacy :
We don't?
No we don't. I'm for privacy as much as the next guy ... but whatever databases this site uses are just as available for crooks as for legitimate users. Crooks already know where to look. The one-at-a-time characteristics of lookups on this site, and the lack of any download capability, would keep the crooks using their current tools. | |
| | | nitzan
Premium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
 ·Comcast
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? I agree. It's much easier for them to buy the databases than to hire a third-world worker who can't read English to do the captchas and copy-paste. Even if they were crazy-fast, what's the max they could do? 6 numbers a minute?
That's 360 numbers an hour assuming they take no breaks at all. There are literally millions of phone numbers. It'll take them years to rebuild any sort of useful database out of this - and the site owner is likely to figure out what's going on and ban their IP addresses long before they'll get any significant amount of data. | |
| | |
Mr Privacy
@anonymouse.org
| You're still missing my point. Those who pay for an unlisted number (or, perhaps, choose a VoIP carrier that does not provide listed numbers) may not WANT anyone to be able to type in their number and see what name is associated with it. It's one thing if you call someone - then you know that unless you take specific steps to block Caller ID they are likely to get your name and number. Here, if they even suspect they have your correct number, they can put it in this thing and verify that it comes up with your name - something you may not want just anyone to be able to do.
I'd be more supportive of this site if it had an opt-out feature, so those who don't want any information displayed on their number could have it blocked.
Finally, I wonder if the public display of this information may violate any contracts this outfit may have with their providers. I wonder how Verizon might feel (just to use an example) if some could type in the number of a Verizon cell phone or landline subscriber and find out who the number belongs to - in the case of a landline customer, particularly if they are paying for unlisted service.
If we could somehow guarantee that everyone who used this service was looking up their own number(s), that would be one thing. But this gives just anyone who is nosey a key to the database. The fact that criminals may have access to this information already doesn't mean we should just give up and throw everyone else's privacy to the four winds!
Just my 2 cents worth... | |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by Mr Privacy :
Those who pay for an unlisted number (or, perhaps, choose a VoIP carrier that does not provide listed numbers) may not WANT anyone to be able to type in their number and see what name is associated with it.
I can only think of a single "unlisted" phone number in my circle of friends, and there is no caller ID name available for that number. Have you found anything different? | |
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Mr Privacy
@anonymouse.org
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? I can only think of a single "unlisted" phone number in my circle of friends, and there is no caller ID name available for that number. Have you found anything different? Well, that's a sample size of one. Since I don't specifically know of anyone who might be paying the phone company for an unlisted number I can't directly address that point. However, I can tell you that there is a VoIP company (one of the providers we discuss in this forum, usually in a favorable light) that by default does not provide listings for any of its customers - that is, if you call Directory Assistance for one of their customers you'll get nowhere (unless some specific special arrangements can be made). However, I put in numbers from some of their number blocks and it was returning customer names. Since no VoIP provider that I know of (other than perhaps the ones associated with cable companies, that actually try to pass themselves off as real telcos for regulatory purposes) actually charges extra for an unlisted number, you can assume that the expectation of at least some of their customers is that their name will not be linked to their number in any public database.
Then too, there is the matter of cell phone customers - again, my impression always was that they are always "unlisted" by default (if that's not the case for some particular company it's still applicable for others) and again there is the question of whether their name should be revealed. I can't tell if the site is doing that because everyone I know with a cell phone has Verizon Wireless and it was returning LOOKUP FAILED - TRY AGAIN LATER for those numbers today (maybe Verizon's already on to this outfit, and is blocking them?). | |
| | | | | | Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? The question is where the "name" info comes from, and I don't think you quite understand. The name comes from the database used by the telcos to provide CallerID-with-name service (not the directory listings or customer account name records). I put in a few numbers I'm familiar with, and they came up exactly as expected. For example, my Verizon wireless mobile number showed city, state (as it does on landlines) with no indication of my name; other numbers showed up with my name as I've specified with the respective providers.
If you don't want your name to be out there, you CAN opt out by requesting that the telephone company not put your name into the database.
Note that some cell companies do populate the CID Name database--Sprint and Alltel come to mind. (Not sure how the Alltel practice will continue in light of the Verizon acquisition...) | |
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Mr Privacy
@anonymouse.org
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? If you don't want your name to be out there, you CAN opt out by requesting that the telephone company not put your name into the database. I don't know if you're deliberately being provocative or just don't get it, but the point is that it's a very different thing to allow someone to get your name when YOU are calling THEM, as opposed to allowing any ne'er-do-well with a computer to type a number that they think might be yours and get confirmation of that fact, or for some other reason to get a name when they only have a number.
All I have to say is, this site had better make sure they are operating very solidly within the boundaries of the law AND of any agreements they may have with whomever they are getting this information from. All it's going to take is for some disgruntled associate/ex-spouse/significant other to use this service to confirm which of several possible numbers belongs to the person they want to locate/harass/kill and my bet would be that there is going to be a major lawsuit (I hope that never happens, but at least I'm not naive enough to think a service like this will never be used for nefarious purposes). This is data that was not intended to be supplied to all comers in this manner, and I certainly wouldn't want to be the person or persons behind this site when someone misuses it with tragic results.
I wonder how police officers and judges (not to mention a few other categories of prominent people) would react if they found out about this service? Again, you can't assume that because someone allows their name to be displayed when they place an outgoing call means they are okay with someone being able to plug in a number and get their name.
Again, just my opinion. | |
| | | | | | | | druber
join:2000-04-11
Marlborough, MA
·VOIPo
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? I'm apparently missing something. What this site does that is new/unusual is telling you who the original and current carriers are, nothing more. The CID lookup uses (I'm assuming) capabilities provided by other sites for years now (like reversephonedirectory.com). | |
| | | | | | | | Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| Out of curiosity, do you have a POTS line? Is your POTS number unlisted? If you call another POTS customer, does it show your name with your number, or does it show "Private Number"? Which would you want it to show, your name or "private number"?
I'm not asking to be argumentative, but to suggest that you consider calling your provider (especially if a POTS line--after all, they determined the gold standard by being the only game in town for quite some time), and talk to a customer service rep. Ask them what happens if you OPT OUT of directory listing by purchasing an unlisted number--does a person receiving a call from you see your number AND name, or number and "Private Caller"? I would think that a POTS company would NOT put your name in the LIDB (that shows up on CID display boxes) when you pay for an unlisted number, but just because it makes sense doesn't make it reality. Keep in mind that with a POTS line, your name is LISTED by default, and you have to OPT OUT of directory listing (by paying extra, even).
Think about it... If someone wanted to 'mine' this data, all they'd have to do is create a 'reverse robodialer' using a VoIP provider that allows callers with PBX systems to set their own CID number, always calling the same (POTS?) line that has CNAM service. Of course, at 10,000 numbers per exchange, it would take quite a while to get even a small fraction of the number-name pairs...
Don't get me wrong--you're welcome to your opinion, and do feel free to post it. IMO, you are overly concerned. There are easier ways (generally paid services) to find people if you're disgruntled with someone and want to find them than a service like this. | |
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Mr Privacy
@anonymouse.org
| Out of curiosity, do you have a POTS line? Is your POTS number unlisted? If you call another POTS customer, does it show your name with your number, or does it show "Private Number"? Which would you want it to show, your name or "private number"? I haven't had a POTS line in years, but if I DID have one I would prefer my real name be shown, as long as it wasn't available to anyone that could just type the number in on a web site! Anyway, what the POTS company does is now irrelevant to me. The point is that MOST independent VoIP providers (that is, those not affiliated with a cable company) do not give you a number that is listed in the directory or with directory assistance - and that's a GOOD thing, in my opinion - but they do send your name as part of Caller ID, and there's no mechanism to get them to change that.
I have Googled several VoIP numbers I know of and none of them show the name (at least not for free - I'm not about to pay any of those services that Google brings up to see what they think they have).
As for local governments putting too much personal information online, I think a lot of local agencies are starting to see the error of their ways. It usually happens when some "prominent citizen" finds that his privacy is being trashed by the county/city/township and makes a stink about it. Local governments have to be responsive to local citizens, and if enough locals decide that too much information is online, it can be made to disappear. That's not to say it's no longer a problem; apparently some local government agencies are still thick as a brick. But then again, I don't know of any local government site that lets you type in an unlisted phone number and get back information on the person associated with that number. Also remember that people can opt out of giving a phone number to a government agency just by leaving that space blank on forms, etc. - most agencies don't question it; those that do will usually let it go if you say the number is unlisted. But, the phone companies have your name and number, and if they are a POTS company they hold your privacy hostage unless you pay them "hush money" every month (one good reason not to do business with a POTS company).
I still strongly suspect that the site under discussion here goes beyond the bounds of legality (but note that I Am Not a Lawyer) because they are misusing data that was never intended to be used in this way. Let me put it this way, if someone could type in random Social Security numbers on some site and get back the names associated with them, don't you think people would rightfully be upset? Bad guys can in some cases do damage with just a name and phone number. And don't say, yes, but such sites already exist - first of all, if they do they aren't free, so the barrier to just mining information is much higher, and second, just because there may be 100 other people on the road speeding doesn't mean you will be immune from getting a ticket if you are number 101 to go past the cop with the radar gun. It's just my opinion that's somebody's going to get the pants sued off them (or maybe they will be heavily fined by the FCC or some other federal agency) for providing this sort of information improperly, particularly if the site is used to inflict personal injury (physical or emotional damage) or leads to loss of life or property.
If this site had any concerns for people's privacy, they'd at least provide some type of opt-out method, and since they don't it's obvious they don't give a flying fig about who they hurt. No matter how much lipstick you put on this pig, it's still a pig in my point of view - they are doing something they really should not be doing. They are like the creepy guy in the high-rise apartment that uses a telescope to peep into the neighbors' apartments - just because they may be able to get away with it for some period of time, and just because there may be other creepy guys that do it too, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do! | |
| | | | | | | | | | topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Regarding the opt-out feature, there's one on every page!
Just click "Delete File", and your Caller ID data will be banned from the site forever. You may want to call your telephone company, though, as they're the ones who are ultimately releasing the data to any carrier who requests it. | |
| | | | | | | | | | Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by topgun98 :Regarding the opt-out feature, there's one on every page! Just click "Delete File", and your Caller ID data will be banned from the site forever. You may want to call your telephone company, though, as they're the ones who are ultimately releasing the data to any carrier who requests it. Out of curiosity, if someone "deletes file" and then gives up that number, is there a mechanism to re-add it to the database at a later time? Is there anything to stop someone else from deleting "my" numbers? Please don't take this as a complaint, just food for thought.
Your site is welcome, IMO--it provides a great resource for those going through porting hell (and those contemplating it  ). | |
| | | | | | | | | | topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by Fisamo :Out of curiosity, if someone "deletes file" and then gives up that number, is there a mechanism to re-add it to the database at a later time? Is there anything to stop someone else from deleting "my" numbers? Please don't take this as a complaint, just food for thought. No, currently if someone deletes a number, it's gone forever. We're working on a more advanced solution.
said by Fisamo :Your site is welcome, IMO--it provides a great resource for those going through porting hell (and those contemplating it ). I'm very pleased to hear that you and others have found it useful! | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Keep in mind that while the LIDB is a dynamic creature, it's not an instantaneous change. If you make a change with your provider, it could take weeks before the change is picked up. I'm not sure why the changes take so long; perhaps someone on the inside can share their wisdom... (The best I can describe is that there is no one universal LIDB, and, similar to DNS propagation, the LIDBs sync with one another in some fashion.) | |
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usa2k
Please PRAY for Rebekah
Premium,MVM
join:2003-01-26
Canton, MI
clubs: | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? I understand that, but once the CNAM link is clicked, the link is removed and it is merely a test field. You can only click it once. | |
| | | | | | | | | | topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
| said by Fisamo :Keep in mind that while the LIDB is a dynamic creature, it's not an instantaneous change. If you make a change with your provider, it could take weeks before the change is picked up. I'm not sure why the changes take so long; perhaps someone on the inside can share their wisdom... (The best I can describe is that there is no one universal LIDB, and, similar to DNS propagation, the LIDBs sync with one another in some fashion.) Actually, our site should reflect the changes almost immediately once the carrier updates the information (which can take time). We're actually querying the LIDB database of the carrier that owns the number -- we're not using an aggregated alternative database that could contain out of date information. | |
| | | | | | | | | | Will Hill
join:2009-06-07 | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Have any/all of the bugs reported here been addressed yet? | |
| | | | | | | | | | CommSoft8086
join:2004-03-12
North Falmouth, MA
| said by topgun98 :Regarding the opt-out feature, there's one on every page! Just click "Delete File", and your Caller ID data will be banned from the site forever. You may want to call your telephone company, though, as they're the ones who are ultimately releasing the data to any carrier who requests it. The "Delete File" appears to delete the number in its entirety -- not just the CNAM data. What's the value of deleting the entire record? I can understand someone's desire to block the CNAM data, but deleting the entire record, with no means of restoring it, seems a little excessive.
Also, it seems that you've changed/enhanced your CNAM database recently. It would be nice to delete the CNAM data and refresh it with you new source. I did a lookup a month or so ago, and you returned data from the "Public Sources" database -- which is/was less than correct. It would be nice to be able to refresh the query from the SS7 database on demand -- particularly as the data changes over time... | |
| | | | | | | | | | voipdabbler
join:2006-04-27
Kalispell, MT
| topgun98,
Delete doesn't work--I tired and it consistently said 3 records had already been deleted by users from my ISP's IP range. I was wondering what was the best way to contact you to request removal. I'm one of the category of folk who are law enforcement/officers of the court who've successfully gotten records removed from Zabrasearch and other search groups. (Lucky me got 2 death threats within a year from people convicted of murder--one of whom is getting released from prison soon. I am cautious about keeping my information unpublished and am none too happy to see callerid listed for a cell phone and VOIP number in your database, when I never approved this information being published.) So, what's the best way to reach you? | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | nitzan
Premium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
·Comcast
| said by voipdabbler :Lucky me got 2 death threats within a year from people convicted of murder--one of whom is getting released from prison soon. Is it just me, or.... why the hell is a convicted murderer getting released?!? | |
| | | | | | | | | | soitgoes2
Premium
join:2005-01-14
·Future Nine Corpor..
| said by voipdabbler :Delete doesn't work--I tired and it consistently said 3 records had already been deleted by users from my ISP's IP range. I was wondering what was the best way to contact you to request removal....I am cautious about keeping my information unpublished and am none too happy to see callerid listed for a cell phone and VOIP number in your database, when I never approved this information being published.) So, what's the best way to reach you? Well, the site doesn't display any CNAM info right now (down for a few days apparently), so maybe the removal feature also isn't working.
However, I would suggest that you are approaching this the wrong way. This site is ONE of MANY that have LIDB access (most of them charge, however). You would be much better off going to your telephone provider to have your name removed from the LIDB so that NO ONE has access to it by such means. | |
| | | | | | | | | | voipdabbler
join:2006-04-27
Kalispell, MT
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Actually, the best method is to contact multiple fronts. I'm not just contacting this site, but the carriers and the site linked on tng.org's pages (the pay service--Reverse Cell Phone Directory). If you don't contact them all, it's rather a futile exercise.
The real question is how the CallerId database has gotten into these venues in the first place. It wasn't meant to be a searchable public database.
nitzan--one word for you--parole. | |
| | | | | | | | | | topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
1 edit | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? voipdabbler,
Please email me at contact@tnID.org so that we can work this out. That address forwards to my personal inbox, but's it's useful for us because it copies my partners. | |
| | | | | | | | | | Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| said by Mr Privacy :
The point is that MOST independent VoIP providers (that is, those not affiliated with a cable company) do not give you a number that is listed in the directory or with directory assistance - and that's a GOOD thing, in my opinion - but they do send your name as part of Caller ID, and there's no mechanism to get them to change that.
I see that on most points, we'll have to agree to disagree, and I'm fine with that. On this one above, though, I need to point out a few things...
VoIP providers putting your name into the LIDB is not as common as you'd think. AFAIK, Vonage, VoicePulse, and a others still do not offer this option. Also, if a provider can put your name in, they can take it out. FWIW, CallVantage has allowed you to remove your name from the db for years (even though they're closing up shop). ViaTalk allows you "change" your outbound CID Name by submitting a trouble ticket. (One would think that they use discretion as to which requests they'll honor, but I'm sure "Private Number" would always be honored.)
I don't know which VoIP provider you use, but if they've put your name into the LIDB and you don't want it there, you need to ask them to remove it. | |
| | | | | | | | Bryan001
Premium
join:2002-08-17
Saint Louis, MO
| said by Mr Privacy :
I don't know if you're deliberately being provocative or just don't get it, but the point is that it's a very different thing to allow someone to get your name when YOU are calling THEM, as opposed to allowing any ne'er-do-well with a computer to type a number that they think might be yours and get confirmation of that fact, or for some other reason to get a name when they only have a number.
All I have to say is, this site had better make sure they are operating very solidly within the boundaries of the law AND of any agreements they may have with whomever they are getting this information from. All it's going to take is for some disgruntled associate/ex-spouse/significant other to use this service to confirm which of several possible numbers belongs to the person they want to locate/harass/kill and my bet would be that there is going to be a major lawsuit (I hope that never happens, but at least I'm not naive enough to think a service like this will never be used for nefarious purposes). This is data that was not intended to be supplied to all comers in this manner, and I certainly wouldn't want to be the person or persons behind this site when someone misuses it with tragic results.
I don't mean to scare you, but you should try putting a listed number into google sometime, the results may surprise you. | |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| said by Mr Privacy :
Well, that's a sample size of one.
Were you in my stats class? Yah, sample size of one doesn't prove anything. That's why I asked if you had anecdotal evidence to the contrary.
Relative to cell phones, all my immediate family has Sprint, and we made the conscious effort to get our names on outgoing caller ID. tnid.org has the caller ID for those phones. a not-immediate family member also has Sprint, and he has not asked for outgoing caller ID name and his name is not displayed.
so I would submit that this dude really is hooked to a hot LIDB database! which, if you think about it, really isn't "listing" ... it's reverse listing. In telephony, when we think of listing it's "tell me the number if I know the name." Usually this is what is supposed to be kept private to avoid collection calls, psycho ex-girlfriends, etc. Unlisted is to prevent revealing the phone number.
Reverse lookups of this type, I don't think have ever been addressed by any rulemaking. As with a lot of things relative to the new technologies, rule making will have to follow capabilities when they cannot be anticipated. | |
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usa2k
Please PRAY for Rebekah
Premium,MVM
join:2003-01-26
Canton, MI
clubs: | Very cool! | |
| | |
See 15 replies to this post | |
montano
join:2001-04-29
Central Cali | My number shows 'Cost Plus Communications, LLC'. That's a name I am not familiar with. I assumed Level3 had my number now
That is a neat site though. | |
| | druber
join:2000-04-11
Marlborough, MA
·VOIPo
1 edit | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Neat, I ported my VZ landline number to voipo last year, and the lookup for me shows the original carrier as verizon and the current one as level3, so that seems correct.
I just checked my cell number, originally ported from at&t wireless to verizon wireless and now t-mobile. original is showing as cingular (correct due to the acquisition/merger some years back?) and current is t-mobile. | |
| friedman
join:2009-04-30
1 edit | Rocky, Great site.
Several interesting observations.
1. The "Original Telephone Company" is the same info you can find on several other sites identifying the owner of an NPA-NXX.
2. The "Telephone Number Owner's Current provider" is very useful, and indeed is correctly displaying the CURRENT underlying provider for the numbers I tested. This info (AFAIK) is not available on the web anywhere else. (Certainly not for free.)
3. The "Telephone Number Owner's Caller*ID" is also displaying the correct info for all the numbers I tested. And this info, as well, (AFAIK) is not available on the web anywhere else. (Certainly not for free.) One issue I had, is after checking about 3 Caller ID's, all further attempts (on other numbers) displayed "LOOKUP FAILED - TRY AGAIN LATER." Perhaps they are limiting usage of this feature.
4. The domain name TNID.ORG was only registered on 24-Apr-2009 (10 days ago.) I checked this in the WHOIS. This appears to be a brand new site. How did you find this service? | |
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See 8 replies to this post | |
Cheese
Premium
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL
clubs:
2 edits | * Original Telephone Company Name: [ TCG SOUTH FLORIDA ]
* Original Telephone Company Type: Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC)
* Telephone Number Owner's Current provider: [ COMCAST ]
* Telephone Number Owner's Caller*ID Lookup: [ Display Caller*ID ]
Who the hell is TCG
After googling, it appears to be associated with BellSouth....Hmmm | |
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See 6 replies to this post | |
meister_sd
Premium
join:2006-01-29
La Mesa, CA
| Both my lookups said there was an error on CallerID too. But I wonder if the site isn't making a type of call and "looking" at the CallerID stream instead of actually having a database to check??
A couple years ago, I called FedEX on an issue and while talking with the operator, she said she could even see my extension I was calling from at work - and verified it! That was a little scary. | |
| 
NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY | Reminds me of the days when the Bell System had a CNA Bureau.
You dialed an "official" phone number and you asked them for the name associated with the phone number.
A live operator read the name and address to you. | |
| topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
| Hi, folks. I am the proprietor of tnID.org.
First of all, thank you for your interest in the site.
Unfortunately, the Caller ID lookup mechanism is undergoing some changes and will probably not be back up and running with free Caller ID lookups for a few days. I apologize for the inconvenience.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at contact@tnID.org.
Cheers! | |
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nick digger
@verizon.net
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by topgun98 :Hi, folks. I am the proprietor of tnID.org. Hi. Thank you for your site.
I just have one small suggestion: when you click an exchange, you get a full list of 10,000 numbers to choose from. Perhaps you could have an intermediate search page that reduces the final list down to 100 or 1000 numbers, by breaking them down by
(aaa) npa-0xxx
(aaa) npa-1xxx, etc
or
(aaa) npa-00xx
(aaa) npa-01xx, etc
Just a thought. | |
| nitzan
Premium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
·Comcast
| Guys, before we lynch this guy - keep in mind that he's just the messenger. There's millions of people with access to this information, and buying it is not at all hard. All this site does is makes the data easily accessible - but it's most definitely not the cause of this data being out there.
The real problem is carriers and/or their employees selling this data to 3rd parties. There is absolutely no way you can be completely anonymous unless either 1. You get the phone number in someone else's name, or 2. You get a VoIP provider and request the number specifically be anonymous. (yes- this is possible - the provider could just order the number in their name)
AFAIK most VoIP providers will not sell your data to 3rd parties. I wouldn't put it past the larger ones, but you're safe with smaller ones.
As with anything else in life- just because someone (phone co) says you're unlisted or anonymous doesn't mean you are. There's still going to be millions of people with access to this data and it WILL be passed along to spammers/crooks/etc. The ONLY way you can truly be "unlisted" is by getting your number anonymously to begin with. | |
| topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
| Hey folks,
Sorry about the downtime. tnID is back online with real-time Caller ID queries free of charge!
I'd like to thank everyone in this thread for the valuable feedback! Please keep it coming.
Cheers! | |
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See 13 replies to this post | |
wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK | Handy site. The only minor issue I see is that the 'original carrier' field doesn't play well with thousands block pooling. | |
| | josephf
join:2009-04-26
·VoicePulse
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? The site also seems to cache data. So once anyone checks a number's current carrier (or caller ID name), it will continue displaying that information on all future inquires on that same DID (even by another party.)
So if there was any subsequent change, it seemingly will not reflect it. | |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by josephf :The site also seems to cache data. So once anyone checks a number's current carrier (or caller ID name), it will continue displaying that information on all future inquires on that same DID (even by another party.) So if there was any subsequent change, it seemingly will not reflect it. Yes I noticed that is was displaying the correct carrier for my number and I recently ported it to Verizon Wireless but now the record says "last updated May 6th 2009.
Why would looking at the database cause it to stop updating? | |
| | | | josephf
join:2009-04-26 | Re: What carrier controls your phone number? Same issue.
Once you check it, it will indefinitely display the same data (including the original date) regardless of any changes (i.e. in carrier) made since then.
A bug the tnID developer needs to address. | |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by josephf :Same issue. Once you check it, it will indefinitely display the same data (including the original date) regardless of any changes (i.e. in carrier) made since then. A bug the tnID developer needs to address. I emailed topgun98 and told him. Hopefully it will help him work out the glitches. | |
| FenixSucks
join:2007-06-21
Portland, OR | TNID hasn't worked for me in weeks. Keeps responding with "Lookup failed, Try again later". It seems like it started having problems right around when it made a transition from TIRS to TNID | |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
| Re: What carrier controls your phone number? said by FenixSucks :TNID hasn't worked for me in weeks. Keeps responding with "Lookup failed, Try again later". It seems like it started having problems right around when it made a transition from TIRS to TNID Yup, same here. My number has not updated since May 6th.
I sent an e-mail to the keeper of the system at the email address suggested herein and got no response. | |
|
mrx
@cox.net
| for all the numbers i checked, i couldnt get the caller id info... it kept coming back failed to display or something... is there something i am doing wrong? when i entered the capachas i entered as they appear with the spaces and all... let me what i am doing wrong... thank you | |
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See 8 replies to this post | |
wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK | It's working fine for me, aside from caller ID lookups, which return "LOOKUP FAILED - TRY AGAIN LATER." | |
| FenixSucks
join:2007-06-21
Portland, OR
 ·Qwest.net
| How do I get Qwest to suppress CNAM on my outbound calls on my POTS? I don't care if they see my number, but I'd rather not every business I call have access to my full name just by calling.
I read somewhere that end user has the right to request privacy and place a hold on delivery of your CNAM.
I specifically requested that and the operator understood my request that I do not want my number blocked, but just don't want my name going out with the number and that I don't want the call to go out as "blocked call".
Well, what they did is they just enabled line blocking, which is essentially as having *69 continuously active. Instead, you have to push *82. It still delivers CNAM when I call another landline number.
Is it possible to get Qwest to NOT enable line blocking, but simply deliver caller ID w/o CNAM? | |
| topgun98
join:2002-12-29
Birmingham, AL
1 edit | Folks,
A few quick notes:
- It is not a "bug" that the Caller ID is cached after the first request. However, the data is not cached forever. After a set number of days, the SS7/TCAP query is executed when someone requests it. Please keep in mind that we're spending hundreds of dollars on Caller ID queries, and we're giving the results away for free.
- No, Current Provider is not free to look up for us, either.
- We will, very soon, launch a commercial product that will allow you to run as many queries as you want, and the results will always be real-time.
- TNID will still be free to use after the commercial product launches.
In the meantime, please enjoy the Caller ID lookups at our expense.
Cheers! | |
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See 28 replies to this post | |
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