14 November 2016

Numbers Starting With 1409------

I do not know about the rest of India but in Visakhapatnam the numbers starting with 1409------ are generally assumed to be advertisement numbers. For the most part they really are. Probably when you receive a call from a number starting with 1409------ you might hear a movie song from the local language or Hindi or even a Hindu Devotional song requesting you to choose it as your ringtone by pressing some number (from 1-9) or star (*) or hash (#) or whatever.

I now say I sometimes did make the mistake of receiving some calls though I did not select any ringtones. "Mistake"? Yes, mistake. Read on, you will get a heart attack.

Since 01-Aug-2016, I started noticing a pattern. Numbers in the Missed Call Log started changing.

I will give an example. Take the following number: +919248145556

I followed the format of

YYYY.MM.DD -- (AM/PM) -- Time -- Call From (Number) -- and Call To (Number). This is the format I followed for The Missed Call Log. Please note that I ignored +91 prefix before each number.

The Missed Call Log used to look like this for the number 9248145556.

2016.03.18 AM 11:59:00 --> 9248145556
2016.03.19 PM 06:27:00 --> 9248145556
2016.05.20 AM 10:20:00 --> 9248145556
2016.05.26 PM 12:41:00 --> 9248145556

From 01-Oct-2016, the call log started looking like the list below :-

2016.03.18 AM 11:59:00 --> 1409980103
2016.03.19 PM 06:27:00 --> 1409980103
2016.05.20 AM 10:20:00 --> 1409980103
2016.05.26 PM 12:41:00 --> 1409980103

2016.10.01 PM 07:57:00 --> 1409980103
2016.10.14 AM 09:05:00 --> 1409980103

What I want to ask is;
if 9248145556 can become 1409980103 then it is equally logical to assume that a number starting with 1409------ can become some Non-Advertisement number!!! What if some of those numbers are actually those belonging to Anti-Social Elements?

When I saw the 1409------ numbers on 26-Apr-2013 I did the stupid act of calling back! I thought someone wanted to speak to me. I thought the numbers 1409------ belong to some new cellphone service provider.

The following numbers changed.

1409931027 became 1409980305
1409980107 became 1409980104
1409980315 became 1409931026
4027520130 became 8405029248
7660833973 became 1409980105
9160908975 became 1409931027
9248145556 became 1409980103
9491621987 became 1409263709
9494972356 became 9489741809 became 1409980311
9502889676 became 1409765123
9652145133 became 1409980307
9908470577 became 1409980316
55678666 became 1409931024 {Do Not Know Why This Number Has Only 8 Digits}

Sometimes an advertisement number changed into another advertisement number.

I will not be surprised if

9441375990 became 1409260018
9441376108 became 1409260081

9441375990 and 9441376108 were numbers I used earlier. Registered in the name of my friend, Vijay Das.

Some of the numbers in The Missed Call Log are definitely BSNL Landline numbers particularly from the cities of Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. Except for three or four numbers in the log rest are Missed Calls. They are "Missed Calls" because I did not receive those calls. Many times I actually watched the incoming call without receiving the call.

So, moral of the story is;

Use numbers registered in your own name. I learnt this the hard way. Try to avoid using any other number as much as possible.

DO NOT receive an unknown number call even if you are sure it is an advertisement number. DO NOT call back either.

If you are a person who have to receive calls from unknown numbers for professional reasons, have atleast three cellphone numbers. First number, for your very personal use. DO NOT give the personal number to more than two or three people. Second number, for professional work -you might actually need more numbers in professional category. Third number, for your friends and other riffraff. Try not to mix these numbers up.

It is a good idea to have a landline number -with caller ID. Or HAVE A CELLPHONE BUT TREAT IT LIKE A LANDLINE NUMBER. Do not carry it away from your house. Use it for services where you receive SMSes such as booking of Cooking Gas; Electricity Bills; Your Bank account Balances, cellphone connected to Aadhaar number, and also for e-mail password verification. It is common sense that it is dangerous carrying a cellphone containing these details.

If you have friends who have a habit of calling you from unknown numbers; tell them in no uncertain terms to go fuck their mothers. It is your arse on the line. Just do not receive their calls. And if you yourself have this habit of calling from unknown numbers better curb it. You might end up jeopardizing the person whose number you used and whose power and influence you completely underestimated. These problems will come back to bite your arse faster than you think that too in unimaginable ways. In fact, getting sodomized with a jackhammer at the busiest junction might seem like an experience only in heaven compared to what might happen to you.

IT REALLY IS A GOOD IDEA TO MAINTAIN A CALL LOG MANUALLY.

If anyone gives you a landline or cellphone number -Especially cellphone numbers; DO NOT JUST JOT THE NAME AND NUMBER. Write down when and where you are receiving it. Write down THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE also. Not just the name of the city -down to the fucking address if possible. You do not know which microscopic speck of information will actually make the whole picture crystal clear to you later.

DO NOT even respond to SMSes offering you goodies like "Thousand Rupees Top-Up Free". Remember the American saying,"There is no such thing as a free meal". If something is too good to be true it is not true at all.

Lastly, memorize the following prayer. I read it in Young World. Yeah, that supplement paper you get in The Hindu newspaper.

From those I trust, God guard me;
From those I mistrust, I will guard myself.

- Italian Proverb

The Hindu
Young World
Saturday 27-January-1996

Only Italians can come up with wisdom like that. Do not forget to read Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" regularly {you would do that anyway if you already read it once} and also read "The Last Don" atleast once. I do not remember verbatim, but as Ram Gopal Varma once wrote, "If you have not read The Godfather, you deserve to be shot." The truth is guys, the world is so crooked if you do not read The Godfather you will end up dead anyway. Atleast pray to God that your death and the deaths of your loved ones will be painless or atleast with as little pain as possible.

Ashwatthaman

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