// Verizon's Call Intercept // // by decoder // // http://www.oldskoolphreak.com Sep. 30th, 2003 ================== || Introduction || ================== Call Intercept is a service offered by Verizon which prevents callers that don't send any caller id information from directly ringing your line. Instead, callers hear a recorded announcement informing them that you subscribe to this service, and they are prompted to record their name for identifcation. If the caller does not record their name, then your phone does not ring. If they do record their name, your phone rings and you have the choice of either accepting or denying the call. While this service does have some flaws, I feel that it is better than Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR). Telemarketers can still get through to a line equipped with ACR without sending any caller id information. There are also some PICC's (Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Codes, commonly referred to as 10-10 numbers) that can be used to bypass ACR. The reason for this is that ACR is meant to reject callers who block their number by using *67, but if there is NO caller id information being sent at all, the call will go through just fine. The caller id display will show 'out of area' and no phone number will appear. Call Intercept, on the other hand, will not let ANY calls directly ring your line unless a number appears on the caller id display. ================== || How It Works || ================== When Call Intercept is activated, anonymous callers trying to reach you will hear an announcement expalining what Call Intercept is, and then they will be prompted to record their name. They can also enter a 4-digit override code to bypass Call Intercept. (More on this later) At this point your phone will ring with a distinctive pattern, and your caller id display will notify you that it is a Call Intercept call. When you pick up the phone you will hear, "Someone is waiting to speak with you. For more information press 1." You will then hear the callers name as they have recorded it, and your will have the options of accepting the call, denying the call, playing a 'sales call refusal' to the caller, or sending the call to your voice mail. The 'sales call refusal' is pretty useful. If the caller is stupid enough to identify that they are a telemarketer, you can have this announcement played to them. It will inform the caller that you do not accept telephone solititations and wish to be placed on their Do Not Call list. I have never had a telemarketer attempt to ring my line and I don't expect it to ever happen. I should note that Call Intercept may not interact well with certain Verizon services as well as some types of phone calls. You cannot have Anonymous Call Rejection active on your line with Call Intercept. I suppose the reason for this is that ACR would take precedent over Call Intercept, and all anonymous calls would get sent to the ACR intercept message. (We're sorry, the person you are calling does not wish to speak with callers that block delivery of their telephone number...or something like that, depending on where you live.) Also, you cannot use *57 to trace calls that came in through Call Intercept. Remember, *57 is a customer originated trace. Don't think that the Telco can't trace these calls, it just can't be initiated by you pressing *57. International cellular calls as well as collect calls made without the assistance of a live operator may also experience difficulty completing calls to your line. ================ || Hacking It || ================ When I first subscribed to Call Intercept, I was asked to choose a 4-digit bypass code. This is the code that you would give to anyone who you wished to have the ability to bypass your Call Intercept service. Upon hearing the Call Intercept greeting, they enter the code, and are granted immediate access to your line. The call would then come through as normal, without any caller id transmissiom. According to the Verizon Residence Services User Guide (see appendix), in former GTE states the subsciber would be able to access their Call Intercept service by calling a toll-free number. Instead of choosing a bypass code while on the phone with the customer service representative, their bypass code would be the last 4 digits of their home telephone number. When they called the toll-free number, they would be able to change the bypass code, as well as turn Call Intercept on and off. When someone would try to ring my line with Call Intercept, my caller id display would read 'CALL INTERCEPT' and the phone number would come up as my area code followed by all ones. (ex: 718-111-1111) This was the case until a few weeks ago, when the caller id began showing a toll-free number. The caller id now showed 1-800-527-7070. This is the number used in former GTE states for a service known as Call Gate. Basically, Call Gate lets you control your phone line in various ways. You can 'blacklist' and 'whitelist' certain incoming and outgoing numbers. You can block or unblock international calls and calls to 900 numbers. You can even block ALL incoming or outgoing calls. It's like being the Admin of your dial-tone. I recall attempting to call this number in the past, but it wouldn't work for me because I can't get this service in my state. But after seeing this number appear on my caller id display as the Call Intercept number, I tried calling again. When I entered my home telephone number this time, it worked. I was asked for my PIN which is, of course by default, the last 4 digits of my phone number. From here I was able to hear or change my bypass code, as well as turn Call Intercept on or off. Verizon never informed me that I was able to use this service, and when I first signed up with Verizon, it wouldn't work for me anyway. It seems that this service is available now in all the old Bell Atlantic states, but Verizon has yet to inform anyone of this. I very rarley get any Call Intercept calls, except when my friends just want to screw around with me and record a weird name for me to hear. I have tested this with other numbers in my area equipped with Call Intercept, and the PIN for the 800 number was default on all of them. If you refer to the Verizon User Guide (see appendix), you will see that the Call Intercept bypass code should be the same as the PIN of the toll-free number. This is not the case in former Bell Atlantic states. I now have two PIN's, one for the 800 number and one to bypass Call Intercept. Verizon has really pissed me off with this one. Anyone was able to access my bypass code, and Verizon never informed me that I was able to use this service. I doubt they ever will. So if you are having trouble trying to call someone in a former Bell Atlantic state who has Call Intercept, try calling 1-800-527-7070. Enter their phone number and the default PIN, and you should have access to their service. You can get their bypass code or simply turn it off altogether. Leave the PIN for the 800 number on default, just in case they ever figure out that they have it. ================ || Conclusion || ================ Although Call Intercept is a very useful service, it does have its downsides. Unlike ACR, callers who block their numbers can still ring your phone, which can be annoying. It also has a bypass code which can be hacked. It's only 4 digits, after all. But these drawbacks pale in comparison to the fact that when using this service, you are very likely to never be bothered by a telemarketer again. Before getting it, I recieved at least 10 telemarketing calls a week, and that was with ACR. Since subscribing to Call Intercept, I have only received 2 calls, and both were from the same company. (They displayed a fake number on my caller id) I beleive that this service costs $6.00 per month for regular Verizon customers. It is included in your services if you subscribe to Verizon's Freedom Extra package. ============== || Appendix || ============== >From the Verizon Residence Services User Guide (VE-RS-E 5/02): -------------------------------------------------------------- CALL INTERCEPT -------------- Call Intercept allows you to manage your calls better by stopping invalid telephone numbers that typically appear as "unavailable," "private," "anonymous," or "out of area" on your Caller ID display. Call Intercept will tell callers that you do not accept unidentified calls and asks them to record their name. If an unidentified caller does not record his or her name, or enter your override code, your phone will not ring, thus eliminating interupptions from unidentified callers. By recording their name, you can hear who is calling, and you have several call handling options. You are in control How Call Intercept Works ------------------------ // An announcement will be played for your unidentified caller, as follows: "the number you are calling has Call Intercept, a service that requires callers whose telephone number does not appear on the Caller ID display to identify themselves before the call can continue. To record your name please press the pound key or simply stay on the line." // If your caller has your override code, which is also referred as your PIN number (see Override Code section), they should enter it now to be immediately connected to your phone. // If the caller records their name, the call is connected to your phone. You hear ringing and your caller hears "Thank you. Please hold." They will hear music until you choose how you want to handle the call. // The ringing pattern you hear will be different from your existing ringing patern and the words "Call Intercept" will appear on your Caller ID unit, so you will know it is a Call Intercept call. // When you answer, the recorded name will play for you. // Here are your five options and what your caller will hear: When you press: Your caller hears: --------------- ------------------ [1] Accept the call Music, until you answer the phone. [2] Decline the call "The person you are calling is not available. Thank you. Goodbye." [3] Refuse a sales call "The person you are calling does not accept phone solicitations. Please add their name to your Do Not Call list. Thank you. Goodbye." [4] Send to Verizon Connected to your Verizon Home Home Voice Mail Voice Mail service.* [5] Hear who is calling Music, until you answer the phone again or make a choice. If no one answers at home, the caller will be connected to your Verizon Home Voice Mail (HVM) service or your answering machine. If you do not have either HVM or an answering machine, then the caller will hear: "The person you are calling is not available at this time. Thank you. Goodbye." *you must subscribe to Verizon Home Voice Mail service to hear option [4] // Unidentified long distance callers reaching Call Intercept will pay their normal rates for a completed call. Override Code or PIN -------------------- Call Intercept doesn't block calls from family members and friends. When you subscribed to Call Intercept, you were either asked to select a 4-digit Personal Identification Code (PIN) in the former Bell Atlantic states or told that your PIN defaulted to the last 4 digits of your home phone number and could change it by calling a toll free number in the former GTE states. You may now give that number out to family members and special friends who may find themselves calling you from a payphone, from various parts of the country where Caller ID information will not be provided, or if they choose to block their numbers from displaying on Caller ID display units. When these family members and friends encounter Call Intercept when calling you, they can enter your override code when asked to record their name. Their call with then bypass Call Intercept. Your phone will with a ringing pattern that is different from your existing ringing pattern to let you know that it is a Call Intercept call. This time, the words "Priority Caller" will appear on your Caller ID unit (or display phone) to let you know that it's a family member or friend using the override code to bypass Call Intercept. ================= || Appendix II || ================= Useful Verizon Numbers (also from the User Guide): 1-800) 527-7070 Call Gate *(use for Call intercept in Bell Atlantic states) 1-800) 870-0000 Call if you misplace your PIN 1-800) 275-2355 Verizon Repair 1-800) 518-5507 Verizon Unlawful Call center 1-800) 254-5959 Verizon Unlawful Call center (TTY) 1-877) TRACE-4U Call Trace Information line 1-800) 257-2969 Call Trace line (for GTE states) 1-800) 562-5588 to test All Call Blocking (in PA only) 1-NPA) 890-1900 to test All Call Blocking (in NY & CT only) 1-888) 599-2927 to test All Call Blocking (in New England) 1-888) 294-1618 to initialize Ultra Forward service (call from ANI) 1-800) 284-1687 to initialize Ultra Forward service (in MA & NY) 1-800) 414-9898 to use Ultra Forward (in NY, CT, MA, ME, VT, NH & RI) 1-212) 338-8300 to use Ultra Forward (from anywhere else) 1-800) 483-1000 Customer Service (in PA & VA) 1-800) 234-2340 Verizon's Customer Information line (c) decoder 2003