Ten to the tenth. That is the total number of possible combinations when you take a three digit area code, a three digit exchange, and a four digit extension, the current form of our phone numbering system in this country. Those singular 10 slots get multiplied 10 times, or the aforementioned ten to the tenth. And that adds up to 10 billion unique phone numbers.
But it's not quite that simple. There are both rules and restrictions that take large pools of combinations out of circulation. For instance, there are no area codes that start with 0, likewise no exchanges either. So when two of the multipliers are 9 vs 10, you drop 2 billion possibilities right off the top. Then to prevent confusion with public service numbers like 311 and 411, exchanges cannot end with 11. There are special codes (950, 976 and such) reserved for testing, governmental use and special services. And the 555 series fabled in song and story is used for demonstration in both advertising and Hollywood. The bottom line is that when you take a few here, another few there, the best guess is that you are left with somewhere around 3 to 5 billion available numbers.
That's the supply, so let's talk about the demand. The most recent census estimates that we have about 332 million people in the country. If you do that math, you get to between 10 and 15 numbers available per person. Several years ago you could see that top end being threatened, what with pagers and fax machines and home lines and dial up modems and work extensions and and and. But as we have steadily ditched all of those in favor of our singular mobile numbers, more combinations are available to the pool.
The final data point is access to those numbers. That used to be the sole province of the phone companies. But as technology has progressed it has become possible to either borrow an existing number without authorization, or spoof the caller ID that pops up so it looks like an incoming call is coming from a different number than it really is. That all means that there many avenues and ways to reach out to you to bug you, tempt you, threaten you and trick you into falling for a scam.
As such, many of us don't even bother picking up the phone unless we recognize the number. Likewise if it's a text with a link, we ignore it unless we can say for certain that it's from our child or office or the kid's school. If they really want to get a hold of you, so the reasoning goes, they will leave a message or send an email or find some way of getting to you. And while this means that there may be a certain number of missed encounters with old college friends who are reaching out after searching for you for thirty years, odds are far more likely its someone offering you an extended warranty for a car you no longer own. You can miss that one and be just fine.
Of late it seems that someone has keyed in on my number and added me to their "do disturb" queue. To be fair, it's unlikely that I am being personally targeted, as if some hacker picked me out of a lineup and decided to start an orchestrated campaign trying to scam me specifically. More likely my number was scraped from some directory or website and fed into the great maw that is lists for sale. And so I have been getting multiple calls and texts, asking me to confirm my address for a delivery, or validate my rebate, or upgrade my account. But I didn't order anything or ask for money back or want a better membership plan. And if I did, then I'll take my chances with the basic package.
While it's hard to stop the calls, there is an option with texts to not only delete them but block the number as well. I did nine just since last weekend. So let's go back to the math. If there are 3 billion possible real numbers and even if 99% of them are legit, that still leaves somewhere around thirty million that could be fakers. I blocked nine. So as of this writing, just 29,999,991 to go.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford only answers his phone when he knows the caller. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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