...friendly neighbourhood watchdog...

I am not sure how many people know about this telephone feature, but I think it incredibly important and it came in handy recently for me so I thought I would share.

If you get a phone call that is a prank, harassing, from a caller wanting personal information or if you have a gut feeling is suspicious on some level, you can dial *57 and the call will be traced, and the info automatically sent to the police. If afterwards you need to find out who the caller was to take action of any kind, the police releases the information to you, or initiates the action.

In some areas, this service is free (and it should be!). In Canada, Bell Canada charges $5 per call, to a maximum of $10 (2 calls) a month. Relatively costly, but priceless in terms of security. And I'm not just talking about personal security. Have you ever had someone call and say they are calling from your bank's security department investigating potential fraud and they need you to read back your account number to them, so they can verify it is correct? I have. In addition to first saying "why don't you give me your phone number, and I will get the account number and call you right back" (at which point they promptly hung up), I put in a call trace afterward, and let my local station know.

Just things to keep in mind.