Hack85.Dial with More Than Just Digits

Hack 85. Dial with More Than Just Digits

You can dial regular phone numbers with not only numbers, but also letters.

Works with: all versions of Skype.

Many companies make their telephone numbers more memorable by making their phone number digits spell something meaningful on the keypad. For example, Federal Express's principal number is [phone], which you also can enter as +1-GO-FEDEX using the letters on the buttons of your phone's keypad. Skype, through its SkypeOut service, offers the same convenience (see Figure 10-10). For those who aren't good at remembering numbers, it's nice to know that letters will work just as well.

Figure 10-9. Creating a zip archive within Windows Explorer

Figure 10-10. Placing a SkypeOut call with more than just digits

10.8.1. Hacking the Hack

Once they place your call, many of the same companies that offer a convenient moniker for their telephone number also deliver you into the clutches of their IVR system. If you're a frequent visitor, the company might have assigned a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to you so that you can authenticate yourself and access services. Oftentimes you can choose your own PIN, which effectively acts as a password for the IVR system, or you can change the company-assigned PIN to whatever you want. Again, those letters accompanying the digits on your phone's keypad can be very useful. If you can't think of a meaningful sequence of digits that are both highly personal and easily remembered, you can choose a PIN whose letters are personal and easy to remember. However, if your PIN spells a word, it should not be anything as obvious as, say, your name.

When interacting with an IVR system using Skype, you can enter responses to voice prompts using the keypad (see Figure 10-11). When it comes to entering your PIN, instead of thinking about entering digits, you can spell a secret word. For example, you might enter FIJI (3454) as your four-digit PIN, in memory of your honeymoon.

Figure 10-11. Enter numbers, or letters, using the Skype keypad