Reported on Sky news in Australia this morning.

Ricky Pontings parents have had to change their phone number after receiving numerous threatening calls, since Sunday.

I find this interesting acker for more than one reason.

1) How come Ponting parents had to change their number?, surely they should have been ex directory, and have a number bar (147 in the UK) to stop people finding their number after they have made a call.
2) I wonder also and they could get a list from the phone provider I expect, how many calls came from inside Australia, and how many came from India or the subcontinent.
3) Also this was predictable, Pontings parents should have been given an alternative number by their phone provider - I wonder why they did not think of this.

4) Will the Australian police try and track down these theatening calls?, and take each and every one they trace to court - where they can be jailed and the key be thown away.

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Ern

I'm not sure if this is a problem else where in the world but, does anyone outside of Australia get calls with people trying to sell things then you ask to be taken off the database and they dont then they ring you a week later?

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Bill Ponsford - The only one who could play in Bradman’s company and make it a duet.

I dont think they were ex directory Ernest.

I'm not sure if they still live in Launceston, but it's a sleepy little hollow of about seventy thousand people while the whole island state of Tasmania has a population of slightly more than 500000 tops.

And I think they would have possibly been one Ponting in a gaggle of Pontings in that locality or possibly phone book if they were in it.

I'm just thinking I hope they are tradesman or running a small business which a change of phone number will have bigger ramification's, although having to get your new phone number out to your close friends and family is daunting enough.

At the end of the day I would be not be very happy if I had to change my publicly listed phone number because my son or my brother got selected in a high profile national sporting team.

P.S Stuart Clark until he got his ACB contract was an active real estate agent. He could find things tough.

Yes it's a problem in the UK at least.

I am on a list which makes this not legal called "preferences" - however they get round this by ringing the number, and asking for any name ( a Mr whoever) - like they had made a big mistake.

Even witholding my number does not work - as firms I buy from sell my personal details (IMO) - including my phone number.

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Ern

Yes and I have registered on that government website that says I dont want un-solicited phone calls.

but not that many since then.

My bank and telco provider are currently the worst offenders, ringing to see if I want to reveiw my account or cross sell me other products of theirs.

True acker - but we live in a sick old world, when I was younger you could leave your door unlocked - do that now and you would have no phone to recieve abusive calls.
I feel sorry for these people, but they will have to get a number known only to their close friends and relatives, and the phone company will have to afford them some protection.

Yes - never though about things like this when this saga broke, he might have to put up with his calls being screened for a while.
EDIT:Oh - I get spam through the mail from them. BTW My spam calls are not as bad since I registered with preferences, but some firms ingore the fact that I am on that list - and still get calls from off shore call centres.

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Ern

Do what i do,tell them you are going to get a pen then leave the phone for 10 minutes.When you get back they have gone and they don't bother ringing again.

Greg off topic but

Is the gentleman in your avatar picture the Rev Peter Hollingsworth former Governor General of Australia.

If it's not he's got a double.

No the man in the picture is Private Harry Patch.

The last tommy alive who saw action in the trenches in the first world war.