David Gast <gast@cs.ucla.edu> (05/30/91)
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." This service goes to show that even if one protects his/her privacy, others are there to invade it. What this service seems to imply is that you are like your neighbors. If one of them calls 1-900-KINKY-SEX (yes, I realize the X does not count as part of the phone number), then you can receive promotional literature or phone calls. If one of them calls, 1-900-4SPORTS, you too, can receive promotional literature. I am so happy to hear that I have the same interests as my neighbors. I expect to get a lot of material I can't read because I don't read all of languages they speak. 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. David
tep@ucsd.edu> (06/04/91)
In article <telecom11.413.2@eecs.nwu.edu> 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
johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) (06/05/91)
In article <telecom11.421.3@eecs.nwu.edu> is written: > One very simple way to find your "nine-closest neighbors" is by using > ZIP + 4. ... I discovered that I share a ZIP + 4 with *one* neighbor. > 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. ZIP + 4 is probably how they do closest neighbors. For large buildings, a single building or even a single office in a building can have its own zip. For PO boxes, a group of boxes or a single box gets a zip (anything sent to zip 02238-0349 comes to me, for example.) Finding the nine people with the closest zips would be a pretty good approximation to the closest neighbors. Using that to make mailing lists is still a pretty unpleasant idea. Perhaps we could try to add language to the Markey bill forbidding the use of CLID and ANI info for anything other than call billing and verification. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl