Man is a social animal. No, scratch that. Man is an “extremely curious” social animal.
He wants to know the what, the why, the “who” of everything.
“Number neighbour” is a concept that emerged out of such curiosity. A number neighbour is someone with the same (cell) phone number as you, except the last digit is one lower or higher.
A little backstory here. In August of 2019, when the pandemic hadn’t hit us in all its glory, an internet trend called number neighbour was creating buzz and people were jumping onto the bandwagon as in most internet trends.
Recently, a Tollywood actor Kiran Abbavaram has tried to revive this trend — to promote his new film Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnu Katha — and has been receiving the signature Twitter flak that is so much fun when you’re not the one receiving it!
Who is your number neighbour..? #Numberneighbour #VinaroBhagyamuVishnuKatha #VBVKonFEB17th pic.twitter.com/nLSlfAqsAI
— Kiran Abbavaram (@Kiran_Abbavaram) February 8, 2023
Why is the Abbavaram guy getting roasted?
Because he deserves to. He is encouraging people to contact their number neighbours while giving them a false hope of finding something miraculous — for instance, a friend who will help them in tough times.
What’s so wrong about a stranger that will solve our problems, you ask. The problem is that it can get creepy, scary and even dangerous sometimes.
Sure, there have been instances where two strangers hit it off right away, became good friends, found love, got timely help, but it’s not all hunky dory. It is important to know the type.
Different types of number neighbours
From the harmless garden variety to the hair-raising, spine-chilling and harrowingly evil ones, we have a wide range of number neighbours. Depending on whom you run into, you’ll either have a great anecdote to share at parties or will just live to tell the tale, or worse, maybe you won’t.
Presenting the various types of number neighbours.
Not-so-smart number neighbours
Trust us, you don’t want to deal with this type! They will drain the energy and curiosity right out of you in a matter of minutes. No fun!
Not-so-friendly number neighbours
Ashley from LA, USA, knows a thing or two about this type. She had tried to text her number neighbour, only to find out that the guy wanted to kill her. And no, he wasn’t joking.
Ashley blocked the number but received over 70 missed calls from a private number, along with multiple images of a man loading several guns. She had to lodge a police complaint and wanted to change her number.
Not-so-decent number neighbours
The story isn’t much different for Reshma (name changed).
An IT employee, Reshma had decided to try the “text-door neighbour” challenge after discussing it with her friends.
“I had a couple of drinks and was not thinking clearly. I ended up texting a petrol pump attendant and it was a nightmare. He didn’t understand the challenge, I couldn’t explain it to him clearly, and once he figured I was a girl, his messages became creepy and sexual in nature. I had to block him almost immediately.”
Reshma believes that most Indians are not open-minded or “digitally-comfortable” enough to take up such online challenges. We agree. “And it is definitely not safe for girls,” she adds.
In Reshma’s case it quickly escalated into sexual harassment. Most women go through such harrowing experiences without sharing it with anyone because of the victim-blaming phenomenon that’s rampant in our country.
Blocking the number or changing their number seem to be the only options for them. Very few are aware of the Indian Penal Code, laws and helplines that can resolve the issues of cyber harassment.
How to report cyber harassment
As per 2020 “Truecaller” report, almost eight out of 10 women in India receive harassment and inappropriate sexual phone calls at least once a week. However, only 12 percent of women reported them to police and the rest have just blocked the number, like Reshma and Ashley did. Blank calls also amount to harassment. Here’s how you can report a phone harassment case.
Emphasising the importance of consent, ACP KVM Prasad from the Cyber Crimes Department, Hyderabad, told South First: “Calling people by changing the last three digits of a phone number for whatever reasons still qualifies as blind-calling random strangers. This could easily lead to harassment, especially in the case of women.”
“If we receive any complaints about this practice we will immediately book the perpetrators under appropriate sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Indian Penal Code, 1860,” he advised categorically.
Plot’s in a name
There are several other complications and issues related to contacting a random stranger. Jo O’Reilly, a data privacy advocate at ProPrivacy.com, says: “Whether you’re planning to send a message or merely responding to one received, if you introduce yourself with your real name you’re instantly giving away two key pieces of personal information to a complete stranger: Your name and your number.”
He further cautions against sharing details like age and location because that will give the stalker/scammer a snapshot of your identity. Now it’s a lot easier for them to look you up on Facebook or other social media platforms.
“It’s worth remembering just how many of these online accounts your phone number is linked to, from WhatsApp to Snapchat,” O’Reilly adds.
There’s more bad news, unfortunately. Identity theft. When you share your number, name and other basic information cyber criminals can use those to steal your identity.
Games like this can be a jackpot to scammers, cat fishers, and paedophiles looking to groom the young or vulnerable. Throw in the added disadvantage of exposing your personal chat or information, this number neighbour game spells doom from the word go.
Parting thoughts? Listen to Josh Peck.
