Noun

900 numbers

1. Plural form of 900 number.

Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers for telephone calls during which certain services are provided, and for which prices higher than normal are charged. Unlike a normal call, part of the call charge is paid to the service provider, thus enabling businesses to be funded via the calls. While the billing is different, calls are usually routed the same way they are for a toll-free telephone number, being anywhere despite the area code used. These telephone numbers are usually allocated from a national telephone numbering plan in such a way that they are easily distinguished from other numbers. Telephone companies typically offer blocking services to allow telephone customers to prevent access to these number ranges from their telephones. In some states, telephone companies are required by state law to offer such blocking.

In the United Kingdom, these numbers are issued to service providers through the regulatory body PhonepayPlus (originally known as ICSTIS, the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services) to ensure certain community standards are adhered to both in terms of content and price. Charges are presented as part of the normal telephone bill.

Other UK numbers -- notably 0870 and 0871 -- are also charged at higher than standard rates. These have not technically been classed as premium rate numbers, but due to public disquiet over the charges, particularly for 0870, the regulations and prices for these numbers are being changed: 0871 is to be reclassified as premium rate, with all the regulations this status entails, while 0870 is still under review, though price and regulatory changes have both been suggested.

Adult chat lines (phone sex) and tech support are a very common use of premium-rate numbers. Other services include directory enquiries, weather forecasts, competitions and voting (especially relating to television shows). Diplomatic services, such as the US embassy in London or the UK Embassy in Washington, have also charged premium rates for calls from the general public.

Computer criminals have used premium-rate numbers to defraud unsuspecting Internet users. One scheme involved inducing users to download a program known as a dialer that surreptitiously dialed a premium-rate number, accumulating charges on the user's phone bill without their knowledge. Another now-uncommon premium-rate scam involves television programming that induces young children to dial the number, banking on the notion that they will be unaware of the charges that will be incurred. One variant, targeted at children too young to dial a number, enticed children to hold the phone up to the television set while the DTMF tones of the number were played. This type of scam was especially popular in the late '80s to early '90s in the United States before tougher regulations on the 900 number business forced many of these businesses to close.

• Livelinks
  livelinks.com
  Singles chat line.
• The Dateline
  bfsystems.com
  A 900 number dating service that allows people to listen to or create their own voice ads in order to find a date.
• Date Line Central
  candyrose.tripod.com
  Listen to messages or leave personal messages.