Female mobile phone users in a fix

[Naveed Yaseen]

by Noor Aftab
Mobile phone subscribers, especially females, are in a fix these days due to unprecedented increase in wrong calls from unknown numbers for the last few months.

Some of them even said that they were really surprised when wrong calls started hitting their numbers just hours after the activation of their new SIMs.

“When I activated my new SIM and no one even my close friends were aware of my new number, I started receiving wrong calls from unknown numbers,” said Neelma Kayani, a student at a local university operating in Blue Area.

“I just want to know how any one could be able to get my mobile phone number when I had not informed any one about it,” she said.

The female subscribers also informed ‘The News’ that unknown persons who make wrong calls do have the exact name on which any SIM is registered with the respective cellular company.

“I myself experience it almost daily, and feel helpless against these mentally sick persons. It’s a menace, and I simply don’t find anyway to cure it,” said 55-year old woman working at a private office in Islamabad.

There are many who think that a girl should not pick up an unknown phone call and can thereby avoid awkward situation. But those who were asked about it completely disagreed with this solution and argued the problems be tackled in a more realistic way.

Samina Khan, a university student, said “It’s not a die hard rule that one always gets a call from a known number. There are many instances when important calls from family or friends are expected and one needs to attend those calls.”

Another student, Nighat Iqbal, said even if the girls do not pick up unknown calls, they are still bugged with these calls and can really be put to test by sometimes continuous calls from freaks that find it amusing to tease.

Given the situation the issue be raised and brought under the scope of PTA as the name and number of the subscriber is not supposed to be disclosed to any one.

The subscribers also blamed that there has been much increase in obnoxious calls soon after the introduction of call block services by some of the cellular companies.

“I don’t know why but I certainly have the knowledge that since the call block services have been introduced by various cellular operators, there have been a visible increase in the wrong calls,” said Rashid Khan, a resident of Satellite Town.

An official of a local cellular company told this scribe that no one can continue to tease any one from unknown number.

“Any such number that is used to make obnoxious calls can be blocked within no time, but the subscribers must inform the respective officials about it,” he said.

The policy to restrict unauthorised issuance of SIMs is being implemented, but this issue may need some more effective and practical steps to be fully eliminated.

Mobile phone manufacturers are also offering some kind of solution to this problem through some features that could enable users to block any un-wanted cell numbers.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=161563