Many companies these days are using what is called a virtual phone system, or VOIP. What exactly is the use of these services? Well, for one thing, they allow you to have several phone lines that you control.
You can then use these phone numbers for things like voicemail, to send faxes, and even to connect to your home phone plan! There are many different uses for these services, and some are very simple. Some are complex, but all of them are rather simple to use.
First, there is the most obvious and common use of a temporary phone number: to make outgoing calls to other people. Now, a virtual telephone number can be used for more complex things, such as to receive or make calls to another line.
This is great for people who work from home, or for people who are constantly on the road. It also makes it much easier to switch from one work telephone to another. This is especially helpful if you have multiple phones under your business umbrella.
Virtual telephone numbers are also great for VOIP services that don’t require a traditional phone line. For example, a VoIP service that allows you to talk to people via the Internet can work just as well as having a regular telephone.
The service itself does not differentiate between what is a residential telephone number and a non-residential number, so people can talk to each other over the Internet just like they would over a regular phone line. Even if the VOIP service is used internally to call employees and customers, it is still possible to switch over to a traditional line if it is needed. This gives business people a lot of flexibility, making a VOIP system a great option for many business owners.
One of the concerns about VOIP systems has been the ability for them to be used for what is called “call phone scams”. This is where a person uses a traditional phone number to prank call a specific company. Since the VOIP system can not differentiate between a residential and non-residential number, all calls made to the system will have the same incoming call number.
This makes it very easy for prank callers to spoof their number and make annoying and sometimes threatening calls to businesspeople. While there is nothing wrong with using a virtual number for your company, it is important to realize the importance of caller id on traditional phones.
Some VOIP systems also offer an application that can mask a caller’s identity. This application works just like caller identification (CRI) on a landline. Any calls coming into the VOIP system are matched with an answering machine or other recording designed to match the caller’s identity. Businesses that use these types of services need to be especially careful about what their employees and customers think about the use of these applications.
Unfortunately, many VOIP service providers offer their customers a free VOIP service, but this is not a way to protect your business. To avoid the possibility of being victimized by what is often referred to as “VOX phone scams”, you must make sure that your phone system is robust enough to protect you from unwanted incoming calls. Call guard is one quality set of products that can help achieve this goal.