Skype Caller ID : calling number identification with some glitches...
No more mr. John Doe calls then with Skype ? Well, not really, since it YOU (the caller) who choses to make your number visible. It seems like the visibility of the number is switched OFF, until you switch it on.
Read this :
"Skype has now added a Caller ID option that will let you use your SkypeIn phone number or your cellphone number for Caller ID purposes. To activate the feature, just log into your account through the Skype web site, and select Caller ID from the Account menu." source
The menu of Skype Caller ID looks like this :
Skype says that " Please note that Skype can not guarantee that Caller identification will always be displayed. Caller identification only works with mobile phone numbers andonline numbers. We'll send you 2 SMS messages at Skype rates to authorise this request."
The setup of this is very simple. It took me 1 minute. We'll see if it is working for my Malaysian cellphone number. There is a good test report on Skypejournal.com here.
"Caller ID (caller identification, CID, or more properly calling number identification) is a telephone service, available on POTS lines, that transmits a caller's number to the called party's telephone equipment during the ringing signal, or when the call is being set up but before the call is answered. Where available, caller ID can also provide a name associated with the calling telephone number. The information made available to the called party may be made visible on a telephone's own display or on a separate attached device." source : Caller ID.
Now for the reality of all this nice marketing talk (at least as seen from my side in Malaysia 1 week later...). Read my lips :
It does not work, not over here at least. After following all the tips and setup-procedure, really simple. the message keeps coming in from the same +34000 number, meaning that my friends will never trust a message coming from some funny number...
The "authentication" with a word (your name) is also not a too smart solution, since that gives again possibilities for fraudsters and joker to impersonate a person.. Would Skype have a smart detection system for that to protect it customers against such mishaps. I do hope so, otherwise I forsee that many Skype SMS'ses will be blocked...
If this would be done as authentication mechanism before the Skype account would be activated, then it would be a different, but that leaves open the issues of the readiness off the Skype backoffice on how to check all these authentication requests. They don't use a simcard right... So how can you really check who is who....
The authentication mechanism is nicely done, but I wonder what the role is of the operators/carrier in between skype and the end-users. What do they think about all this. Is it of any concern anyways ? And what happens when the code is entered twice on on different skype ID ? And what about those fraudsters who can copy simcards ! There are quite some problem relating to sending anonymous sms's. I already get spammed all the time by xyz via my cellphone.
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