How to tell if someone is calling you from a payphone

sorabji.com: The Payphone Project: How to tell if someone is calling you from a payphone
By The Terminator on Sunday, October 28, 2001 - 01:21 am:

    I just saw a show on TLC about bounty hunters. This one guy was training some people to be bounty hunters, and he was teaching them how to recognize if someone was calling you from a payphone or not (anyone who knows about this line of work will understand the importance of this).

    Anyway, he said that if the group of four digits at the end of the phone number started with a 9, it was a payphone number. In other words, a number like xxx-xxx-9xxx. Now this may have been true in this guy's area code or exchange, but it's not true everywhere.

    So I'd like to know if there is a way to find out if there are similar ways to identify a pay phone number in other area codes or exchanges, either in general for any area, or for the greater Baltimore Maryland metropolitan area.

    Thanks!

By The Watcher on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 03:23 pm:

    The "9" idea is pretty good. However, some of the Baltimore area payphones I've found and posted had the number "8".

    See the listings in this thread:

    Easton Maryland 21601 payphones area code 410.

    I posted some there my self for the Balto. area.

    I'd tell you to check out the Payphone-Project main site except I haven't been able to connect today.

    Check out http://www.payphone-directory.org too.

By The Watcher on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 12:00 pm:

    The Payphone project site is back up. Hurray!!!

    Thanks Mark.

By Beavis on Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - 03:46 pm:

    um......maybe you could say, um....are you calling from a payphone? that would be cool!

By Whisperer on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 - 04:02 pm:

    maryland metro region is easy to identify if you can get a copy of the green book.

    the green book is supplied to all operators in the maryland region.

    ask around someone may be able to get one for you.



By Der on Monday, April 1, 2002 - 12:25 pm:

    you could just listen for the semi to drive past, thats always a good indicator ;)

By Manolofx on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 09:42 am:

    A alternative and possible way to find out if someone is calling you from a payphone is asking... Maybe you are lucky and he's in good mood to tell you.
    And it's true the method ***-***- 9***
    In New York there are many numbers with the number 9 in that position. Coincidence??? I don't think so... but I'M COMPLETLY SURE IT'S A FOOLISHNESS Yesssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!! :P