To Listen To Someone Else's Voicemail, Press 1

from the whoops dept

I remember, many years ago, dealing with the "crossed line" phenomenon. A friend had a phoneline that somehow got crossed with (we guessed) a neighbor's line. We'd be talking on the phone, and suddenly we'd hear - perfectly loud and clear - someone else start a conversation. We once spent a while listening in on one of these conversations and testing whether or not they could hear us. There was no reaction, so we began mocking everything that was being said (we were kids, and that's what kids do) - which turned out to be a mistake when we (and they) discovered they could hear us. Anyway, I had no idea anything like that still happened - and especially did not expect it to occur on a mobile phone network. However, in Australia, thousands of Telstra mobile phone customers discovered that talking on the phone became a giant party line - and you had no idea who might be listening. They're still not entirely sure what happened, but people trying to answer calls on their mobile phone (correctly indicated by the caller ID) found themselves listening to entirely unrelated conversations. They also found they often had access to the voicemail boxes of others.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    James Dennis, 27 Aug 2003 @ 12:32am

    It happens

    I have come across it myself where calling a number on a PBX Connected to an MSC gave you an ear into converstaions in a particular cell - But even weirder I have also come across data-cross talk where I am dialled up to a console over wireless using a laptop and suddenly get garbage on the screen which I then recognised as Wap content. Somebody elses session.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    jason, 27 Aug 2003 @ 12:32am

    if i dont trust my girlfriend how can i listen to her voice mai from my phone

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ashley, 27 Aug 2003 @ 12:32am

    all i want to know is how i listen to sara's voicemail off of my phone... >???

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    dorpus, 27 Aug 2003 @ 12:54am

    Not quite as bad as....

    Living in some low-IQ region like Pittsburgh or the Deep South, where the local yokels keep calling up your number to talk to someone else who used to have the number. They cannot understand the concept of a number no longer belonging to someone, so they keep calling back. And even if they do understand, then they want you to "leave a message".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Karma Chamelon, 27 Aug 2003 @ 8:09am

      How to STOP those calls....

      Idiots on the east coast are just as bad ...
      Several responses: " Tell them you will be happy to provide the message as soon as the receipient is released from child molestors prison "
      " Tell them, you would be happy to let them talk to the party they are trying to reach but unfortunately your cock is in their mouth and they are not able to speak @ this time "
      These two usually STOP the calls.
      Besides, its usually the last asshole that had the # that is still giving it out ... I know I do anytime someone wants a phone # in a bar or for a form and they don't need it, I just tell 'em 717 - 630 - 8041

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    auomouse, 27 Aug 2003 @ 8:13am

    classic tel$tra

    its classic ie golden moment, that they say that turning it off & on again fixes it. you get this shite advice from their dialup/broadband heldesk. perhaps they re-installed the tcp/ip stack ! what are they using - win2k ?!?

    tel$tra is the classic public utility thats been part privatised & had its staff massively reduced & plant investment severly curtailed. it now relies on media advertising & political fixes to survive while openly increasing line rentals by 100% over 3 years just to rub it into it customers.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Patrick, 27 Aug 2003 @ 4:42pm

    Overlapping cell conversations

    Have had this happen on AT&T in Denver several times--I'll be talking to some one, I'll lose them, and pick up another conversation. They are unable to hear me.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.