A misdialed call or wrong number is a telephone call to an incorrect telephone number. This may occur because the number has been physically misdialed, or because the area code or ownership of the number has changed. In North America, toll-free numbers are a frequent source of wrong numbers because they often have a history of prior ownership.
The recipient of a wrong number is usually unknown to the caller. This aspect has been used in social sc...
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A misdialed call or wrong number is a telephone call to an incorrect telephone number. This may occur because the number has been physically misdialed, or because the area code or ownership of the number has changed. In North America, toll-free numbers are a frequent source of wrong numbers because they often have a history of prior ownership.
The recipient of a wrong number is usually unknown to the caller. This aspect has been used in social science experiments designed to study the willingness of people to help strangers, and the extent to which this is affected by characteristics such as race. This experimental method is known as the "wrong-number technique".
On a landline, wrong numbers are harmless to the recipient other than the annoyance of answering an unwanted call. But on a cellphone, if the plan charges minutes on incoming calls, a wrong number may cost the subscriber one or more minutes.
Some common ways in which a wrong number is dialed include:
Proper telephone...
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