I Asked Her To Change My Name

https://pixabay.com/en/mobile-phone-keys-elderly-cell-phone-2149194/
Philippines
May 31, 2017 7:25am CST
I always laugh when I get a wrong text from someone because I share the same nickname as her house helper/business assistant. Some of the messages are "Please bring the laptop upstairs" or "Why are the boarders complaining about x, y and z?" Today, I got a text about helping her bring clothes, pet, etc to her daughter, so I suggested that she change my name in her phone's contact list to something longer, but still similar, so that she will notice the difference and avoid texting the wrong person. For example, here in the Philippines, if your name is Elizabeth and your nickname is Beth, others might create new nicknames out of your nickname like Betsy or Betchay. Or if your name is Mario, your nickname could be Mar, Mars or Marsky. On the other hand, I had a college classmate whose name starts with A and she has no nickname. I remember her saying she's used to getting calls day and night from people who are calling someone else because her name is usually on the top/first on the contact list and they would accidentally press it. One time, I got a text from someone looking for Jacob or Jason asking if he is still selling his phone. I ignored it the first time. But when they texted again after a month or so, I finally answered to clarify that he has the wrong number and person, and that I don't have a BlackBerry for sale. A more serious message I received was about family financial issues. There were several long messages and asking about certain incidents. I finally replied to say we have no family members living or working in Canada. Do you ever get calls or text on your mobile or landline that’s come from nowhere or because it’s slightly similar to another house or a business?
18 people like this
22 responses
@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
31 May 17
We asked not to have our name on the phone directory, only family, relatives and people we know have our number.
2 people like this
• Philippines
31 May 17
now that you mention it, all the years we had our landline, i think our home number wasn't in the phone book, either.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
31 May 17
@hereandthere @cacay1 At least we are not annoyed by those who pick up numbers from the phone book (or Internet) to place commercial calls.
2 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
1 Jun 17
us too. our phone number is private and only a few know it.
1 person likes this
• United States
31 May 17
It is a very rare occasion for me, but yes I did once or twice but only short texts asking for another person I do not know. It seems you are the popular one to get other peoples text
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 May 17
i'm trying to remember the calls we used to receive on the landline. hmm. i think most were wrong households.
1 person likes this
• United States
31 May 17
@hereandthere Oh yes I no longer have a landline as that one was always calling but not for me.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 May 17
@TiarasOceanView i think sometimes because the numbers are slightly similar. it can be very inconvenient, though, when you're busy or expecting a call and it's a wrong number.
1 person likes this
• United States
1 Jun 17
I don't but glad you asked her to change your name so she doesn't get confused
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Jun 17
@hereandthere especially if it's late or too early of a text
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
i hope she does. if i get a strange text from her again, i'm going to remind her!
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90717)
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
Yes, I just recently received two texts. The texter was calling the person brod and they seem to be meeting somewhere. So, on the second text, I forwarded it to him and said that it was missent to me. From then on, no more missent text.
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90717)
• Philippines
3 Jun 17
@hereandthere No, it's for somebody else. May hischurch mate.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
so it was for your husband?
1 person likes this
@Tierkreisze (1609)
• Philippines
7 Jun 17
I actually sent a wrong message to my college classmate whose name was the same as my high school classmate. I quickly apologized when I realized it.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
7 Jun 17
that's what happened to me because we have the same nickname, so i can't help laughing and teasing her when i get it. hope the message you sent was "harmless"
1 person likes this
• Philippines
7 Jun 17
@hereandthere It was harmless. I was just asking for my friend's phone number anyway.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
16 Oct 17
I have a private number and get lots of wrong phone calls on my landline. I guess they pick a number from random and call lit.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
i think so. in the past, people would dial random numbers on the landline and ask you to be their phonepals. now they do the same with cellphones and ask you to be their textmate.
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
16 Oct 17
@hereandthere As far as I know I just get them on my landline. Kids like to play games with the phone when they are on vacation and are bored.
1 person likes this
@annierose (21977)
• United States
31 May 17
I experienced that before. It was from a Cooperative. I ignored their messages since I don't know what they were talking about until they made a phone call. And from that, I replied I am a different person.
1 person likes this
@annierose (21977)
• United States
31 May 17
@hereandthere I see. Sometimes I also dialed wrong numbers and only figured it out after the person on the other line tell me there is no such person in their house.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 May 17
so far the wrong numbers we've received on our landlines seem to be from households, too, because they would mention several names. then they would mention the area/location where the person lives, but it's far from here, and only then will they be convinced and stop calling.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
I don't experience that kind of calls. Except for one time they were attempting to get the name of the residence just to find away to abduct us.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
really? how did you know what they were trying to do?
@jstory07 (148720)
• Roseburg, Oregon
31 May 17
That happen sometimes in the middle of the night and they wake me up.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 May 17
that would be the most annoying time. you worry it might be family then it turns out to be a wrong number!
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
1 Jun 17
i received a text message that stated "magandang buhay" (good life) and i don't know who the sender is. i ignored it (because that phone has no load), but when i had the phone reloaded, i asked who the sender was. luckily, the sender did not respond.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
1 Jun 17
they probably realized they had the wrong number because you didn't recognize them.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
@hereandthere i have 3 numbers, but the number is not in my other 2, so maybe the sender wanted to see if there was indeed another owning the number.
1 person likes this
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
31 May 17
No, very rarely! You are right, they should change your name on their list, or devise other means like adding a number to it like Beth 1, or just have a code for it.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
i gave her 4 nicknames from my nickname that others have given me. i hope she used one of them.
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
1 Jun 17
Tell her to change your name to Ms. Everywhere :)
1 person likes this
• Philippines
1 Jun 17
i gave her 4 choices (i have a collection of nicknames from my nickname).
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
1 Jun 17
@Edsamacos (557)
• Philippines
31 May 17
I get the smishing and phising stuff. One time I got a text messaging saying it was his roaming number and he's part of the family. Asking money from me because the balikbayan box full of goodies and stuff will arrive in the Philippines.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
5 Jun 17
oh, i've gotten that, too, in the past. of course, i never replied!
@magnumopus (1644)
• Singapore
1 Jun 17
I recieved a telephone call yesterday and I'm pretty sure it's a scam which I simply ignored.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Jun 17
good for you. it's good to be informed and aware and trust our instincts.
@rusty2rusty (6771)
• Defiance, Ohio
31 May 17
I get all kinds of spam calls. They get offended when I call them out on it too. It's funny when they say my name like they know me like I am going to listen to anyone trying to scam me. Lmao,
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
31 May 17
Back when everyone was listed in the telephone books (like the white pages), people used to call our house all the time asking for my uncle (my dad's brother who of course shared the same last name - and our last name is very uncommon).
• Philippines
5 Jun 17
we had them every year, the white pages and the yellow pages, but our number were not listed. i guess they assumed he lived with you or that you can give them his contact number.
1 person likes this
@prashu228 (37518)
• India
31 May 17
Yes I do. I keep them in block list
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 May 17
my phone is an old basic nokia. it probably doesn't have a block feature. but then it doesn't happen often anyway.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
2 Jun 17
That is a really good idea. It can be so embarrassing to text the wrong person @hereandthere
@DianneN (254949)
• United States
31 May 17
No, we don't. Our numbers are private and only for close friends and family.
@ShifaLk (17811)
• India
6 Jun 17
Oh yeah it happens
1 person likes this