Intercepting Calls Can Help Restore Peaceful Nights (NAPS)—One new service offered by phone companies may prove to be a ringing success. some callers’ numbers do not appear on Caller ID displays. keep peaceful evenings from works do not pass alonga caller’s calls. Most people feel compelled to the caller’s number maynot be Callers may block their numbers. Some telephone company net- That service intercepts calls to being interrupted by unwanted numberto Caller ID units. If the call is collect or person-to-person, answer the phone whenever it rings, even if they’re in the Caller ID can help people decideif they want to answera call, what passed along because theoriginal call was the operator. And calls from certain business lines or equipment don’t pass numbers. VIP callers can bypass Veri- and number don’t show up on your Caller ID unit? It might be digit passcode that you select. Whenfamily and friendscall from shower or eating dinner. While happens whenthe caller’s name someone you don’t want to talk to, but whatif it’s an importantcall you don’t want to miss? A new service provided over telecommunications networks offers some control. Provided as Call Intercept service in the North- east by Verizon and by other names elsewhere, the service lets you block unwanted calls from telemarketers and others whose numbers don’t appear on Caller ID units. To use Call Intercept, you must subscribe to Caller ID. Calls that appear as “anonymous,” “private,” “out of area” and “unavailable” on your Caller ID display are diverted by Call Intercept before the phone rings. Callers are advised that you don’t accept blocked calls and are asked to say their nameandaffili- ation and hold the line. If callers zon’s Call Intercept with a four- A newservice screens out unwanted phone calls before they ring. do not identify themselves, your phone does not evenring. If they a phone line that doesn’t pass along the phone number, they simply dial the passcode they have been given and thecall will do, they remain on hold and your go through. If the incomingcall is a sales is played for you. message that says you do not accept phone solicitations and phone rings with a distinctive ring. When you pick up, the name You have five options on han- dling a call. Take it, declineit, refuse a sales call, send the call to voice mail or hear the caller’s nameagain. “Call Intercept is a great product for customers who receive many anonymousor out of area calls or who gave up on Caller ID because some incoming calls were unidentified,” said Debra Swann, Verizon vice-president of consumer product management. There are various reasons why pitch, you can send the caller a request that you be addedto their “do-not-call”list. Call Intercept is now available to Verizon customers in the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas, Delaware and northern New Jersey. Additional areas will be added in coming months. For more information, visit www.verizon.com. Call Intercept costs $4 to $5 a month and may be a handytool for people wholike their privacy and prefer to relax in the evenings.
