Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: 3 Jun 91 22:44:28 GMT From: Tom Perrine Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: 900 Numbers and Privacy Reply-To: Tom Perrine Message-ID: Organization: Logicon, Inc., San Diego, California Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 421, Message 3 of 11 Lines: 55 In article gast@cs.ucla.edu (David Gast) writes: X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 413, Message 2 of 13 > Someone wrote yesterday: >> At the end it reports that 900 numbers increasingly capture the >> callers' numbers and translate them to addresses. According to Sprint >> Gateways, the US Sprint 900 department, they are able "to identify the >> names and addresses of the nine closest neighbors of the original 900 >> caller. With this information, additional qualified prospects can be >> identified for database marketing efforts." > Finally, I am curious about the nine closest neighbors. My guess is > that it is nine numbers close by, probably arranged by address. I > doubt that US Sprint actually has detailed maps indicating the > location and configuration of every apartment and house on every plot > of land. It would be interesting to know who my nine closest > neighbors are or even the nine closest neighbors of my parents. Where > do they measure from? Where the phone enters the building? The > center of the property? All in all, I would estimate that Sprint is > exaggerating its claims again. At least, I hope they do not have > these detailed maps. One very simple way to find your "nine-closest neighbors" is by using ZIP + 4. I discovered this while extensively researching privacy issues (killing time while waiting in the Post Office line). I saw the new ZIP + 4 directory, and decided to look up my address and see just how close someone could match me, based on only my ZIP + 4. I discovered that I share a ZIP + 4 with *one* neighbor. When I saw this, I skimmed through the book and noticed that in most instances, it appeared that there where no more than 8-12 addresses to a ZIP + 4. I live on a fairly generic street of single-family homes in a city (Poway) which is adjacent to San Diego. I do not know how ZIP + 4 deals with high-occupancy buildings, but I suspect that a ZIP + 4 could be set up to handle one or more floors of a single building. (Actually, I seem to recall that ZIP + 4s are grouped together to form the routes that the Post Office assigns to letter carriers.) I suspect that your "nine-closest neighbors" share your ZIP + 4, or are otherwise matched from adjacent ZIP + 4s. Tom Perrine (tep) |Internet: tep@tots.Logicon.COM |Voice: +1 619 597 7221 Logicon - T&TSD | UUCP: sun!suntan!tots!tep | or : +1 619 455 1330 P.O. Box 85158 |GENIE: T.PERRINE | FAX: +1 619 552 0729 San Diego CA 92138