Changing Phone # to Alias on AT&T Bill

[sparky84]

If you go online and view your AT&T cell phone bill and view all of your current incoming and outgoing calls, you can click on, for instance, any incoming call phone number and a window pops up asking you for an "alias" name for this phone number. This option allows you to rename the phone number with an appropriate title (for example, the caller's name) or even change the actual phone number so it looks as if the caller called from an entirely different phone number. If you make such a change and save it, I am told that this change will not only affect the current bill, but also future bills if you receive a call from that original phone number that is now "re-named" so that it appears differently on future bills. Does anybody know if you can apply this alias name retroactively to make it look as if someone called you on your cell phone when in fact they didn't? I am asking because I am trying to find out if someone tampered with their phone bills in this manner. Thanks for any help

[Jay2TheRescue]

AFAIK that only effects viewing your online usage and activity. It does not have anything to do with the actual printed bill. I have all my regular numbers named (Mom's cell, Dad's cell, etc, but on my bill they show as Fredericksburg, VA 540-842-XXXX

-Jay

[sparky84]

Thanks for the replay but one can easily make the change on the online statement and print out the online statement.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I just checked my online account. When viewing your current usage online it uses the aliases, but the actual numbers called show up on the bills. Of course anyone skilled enough (skilled? I guess anyone with enough time to kill) can create a fake bill with MS Word and print it out. Your current usage that's available online is not a bill.

-Jay

[sparky84]

Jay, I appreciate the reply. Reason I am asking all of these questions is because I am involved in a legal battle where someone claims that I called her on a certain day and presented a cell phone statement showing that. However none of my phone bills (home, cell, etc.) show I placed the call and I don't remember making the call. So I am trying to figure out how someone may have tampered with the bill several months or more after the fact. The "alias" option on the website was the only thing I could think of. I know you can "spoof" people and make it look like someone else is calling, but this person would have had to set that up months ago, and at that particular time, would have had no reason to do it. I'm not tech savy, so if you have any theories, I would love to hear them. This lady has AT&T wireless, which is why I am focused on AT&T.

[Mobile Mike]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I just checked my online account. When viewing your current usage online it uses the aliases, but the actual numbers called show up on the bills. Of course anyone skilled enough (skilled? I guess anyone with enough time to kill) can create a fake bill with MS Word and print it out. Your current usage that's available online is not a bill.

-Jay

I agree with Jay. Only phone numbers show up on the bill. Aliases only show up on OLAM (in my experience).

Originally Posted by sparky84

Jay, I appreciate the reply. Reason I am asking all of these questions is because I am involved in a legal battle where someone claims that I called her on a certain day and presented a cell phone statement showing that. However none of my phone bills (home, cell, etc.) show I placed the call and I don't remember making the call. So I am trying to figure out how someone may have tampered with the bill several months or more after the fact. The "alias" option on the website was the only thing I could think of. I know you can "spoof" people and make it look like someone else is calling, but this person would have had to set that up months ago, and at that particular time, would have had no reason to do it. I'm not tech savy, so if you have any theories, I would love to hear them. This lady has AT&T wireless, which is why I am focused on AT&T.

If there is such a thing where the bill does show the alias, it would have to be an extra cost bill feature AT&T has, although I've never heard of such a thing.

It's possible that person either fabricated the bill, or they special requested it from AT&T. This is just a guess, though.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I'd just show that person your bill from that period that shows no call was made.

-Jay

[COtech]

It's not impossible (only difficult) to forge a caller ID number. Easier to pay some service $0.40/minute for the call through them. Best defense, in my opinion, is no outgoing call on your statement. Here's the first one a seach found (free caller id spoof).

COtech

[sparky84]

Ok - I have a totally different question involving AT&T cell phone statements. What if you make an outgoing call to someone from your cell phone. During that call, someone calls you on your cell. You click over to the 2nd call using the call waiting and continue with the 2nd conversation. If you were to go and review your cell phone bill covering those 2 calls, clearly the 2nd call will be labeled as a "Call Wait" call. What about the 1st call? How would that be reflected on your bill? I have reason to believe that by taking the 2nd call, the 1st call is also labeled as a "Call Wait" on your bill. Anybody know anything about this?

[Jay2TheRescue]

I think only the second call is marked as call waiting on the bill.

-Jay

[efparri]

I was talking to my wife and she received another incoming call. When I checked the statement later, the first call was listed as "Call Waiting" rather than the second call. I think that it has to do with whichever call is put on hold. In my case I talked for about fiifteen minutes on a call which showed as lasting eighteen minutes. If my wife had not been driving, she might have called me back rather than let me wait. I have not had an occasion to see what happens if the calls are swapped back and forth.