When I was a kid I could call someone and ask if their refrigerator was running and not worried about getting caught. Nobody had caller ID them. To figure out who you were, the police had to actually trace your calls. The TV shows would show smart felons counting the actual time it would take to trace a call and hanging up just before the time ran out. Well the times are quite different now.

With the advent of caller ID, people can know at least the telephone number from where someone was calling and guess who it is that called. However, the world is again changing with the advent of VOIP and Virtual Telephone Numbers.

It is now possible to have a telephone number anywhere in the world. These numbers are called Virtual Numbers. It is possible to for a company to have local Telephone Numbers in New York, Florida, California, and Washington and have them all call somewhere in the middle of Wyoming up in a mountain cabin over the Internet. While this seems like it may be deceptive on the part of a company, it can also be a very powerful tool.

Lets say you have an aging Mother who lives in Indiana and you live in Washington. In this case you would like your mother to be able to call you at anytime without worrying about long distance charges. Well you can get a virtual Indiana number and have it will ring your Washington Telephone. She can talk to you as long as she wants for the charge of a local call. Never again will she have to pay long distance to call you. With the advent of new VoIP telephone companies like USP Connect, Vonage, and other providers, you can always call her for free because of the Free Unlimited Long Distance Offered in many of their plans.

Not only can you get virtual local numbers, but you can get virtual 800 numbers as well. Imagine giving a child away at college your 800 number to call you. They can never say they could not afford to call you from anywhere. Many students have cell phones, but sometimes the batteries die or they run out of minutes and it way too expensive to call you. Not anymore, they can find a payphone or a friends phone and call your virtual 800 number any time.

There are many uses for virtual numbers. One of the best things is they are relatively inexpensive usually $5 to $10 a month depending on the type and number of minutes you give to them. Truly the world is becoming a local call!