By Mike Benbow
Herald Writer
Starting today, residents of Snohomish County and Camano Island will get a new weapon in the war against unwanted telephone calls.
A new service called Intercept will allow Verizon customers with Caller ID to block telemarketers and other callers who refuse to identify themselves.
"Customer Intercept is a junkyard dog, guarding customers’ privacy and helping to control incoming calls," said Melissa Barran, spokeswoman at Verizon’s Northwest headquarters in Everett.
She said customer feedback "has been tremendous" in other parts of the country with the service. "This is the kind of service people have been waiting for," she added.
Caller ID, equipment that identifies the number of a caller, has been a popular service. But it’s scorned by some because of the large number of callers who block their numbers from appearing on the screen. It usually shows up as "anonymous," "private" or "out of the area."
The new service will intercept these calls before the phone rings. Callers will hear a message informing them that the subscriber doesn’t accept unidentified calls and asks them to identify themselves.
It then rings the phone, plays the message and gives customers the option of accepting or declining the call or sending it to voice mail.
The service also allows subscribers to give out a special identification number to friends and family members to bypass the blocking feature if they’re calling from a line that doesn’t identify itself.
The cost of the service is $5 a month over and above the cost of Caller ID.
You can call Herald Writer Mike Benbow at 425-339-3459
or send e-mail to benbow@heraldnet.com.
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