Issue 148 - February 2013 (2nd Edition) - Page 10

Hoax - 'Your Cell Phone Has a Name'

Outline
Message circulating on Facebook claims that entering the last three digits of your cell phone number into a Facebook comment will reveal the "name" of your cell phone.

Brief Analysis
Entering the last three digits of your phone number in the way described will indeed reveal a name. However, it is not the name of your phone. Every Facebook profile has a unique identification number. Entering the number and code in the way described in the message displays the name of the Facebook user with that identification number. Thus, the message is just a prank, albeit a rather interesting one.

Detailed analysis and references below example.

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Hoax-Slayer Newsletter:

Last updated: February 5, 2013
First published: February 5, 2013
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example

Your Cell Phone has a name!

Take the last tree digits of your number
(Example ***-***-*618)
Type it like this: @[618:0] |in the comments below and hit enter.
I's name will appear!

Detailed Analysis

According to this message, which has circulated via Facebook in various forms for more than a year, you can find out the "name" of your cell phone by entering the last three digits of its number - configured in a special way - into a Facebook comment box and hitting the "enter" button.

In fact, entering a three digit number formatted in the way described, does indeed display a name. However, the name revealed is not the name of your cell phone as claimed in the message, but rather the name of a particular Facebook user. Here are the facts:

Each and every Facebook Profile has a unique Identification Number associated with it.
@[string_of_digits:0] is a shortcode that, when entered into a Facebook comment box, displays the name of the user associated with that ID number.
The code has no connection whatsoever to your cell phone number.
The number entered does not have to be only three digits, and in fact most Facebook ID's will be considerably longer.
These short (three digit) profile numbers suggest that they belong to some of Facebook's earliest users.

Thus, the message is just an interesting and rather harmless prank.

A sreenshot of the "trick" in action:

Cell HAs a Name Prank

References
Your Cellphone Really Doesn't Have a Name : Another Silly Facebook Hoax
Did you know your CELL PHONE has a name? Try this - Facebook Hoax

Previous Article Next Article

Issue 148 Start Menu

Pages in this issue: