"Line in Use" message on phone, I p/u phone and....?

Question

I recently moved to a apt. complex and transfered my old telephone number to my new home. Several times now I have noticed a "line in Use" message. So I pick up my telephone and I have either directly heard people talking, and they abruptly hang up or they hear me pick up, and I hear them hang up.

One time, I was in the middle of a telephone conversation, and I heard what sounded like someone picking up a extension at my home. Then my telephone call was disconnected. I called the person I was speaking to back, they heard it too and it wasn't from their end.

I have no other extension at my home, it wasn't my computer (I have cable modem). The telephone company has been out twice and says wires are not crossed. Which I didn't think they were, cause most people talk when lines are crossed & try to figure out what's going on. Who ever is doing this doesn't want me to know about their using or just listening to my telephone line.

Is this a neighbor or what?

Answer 1

Sounds like a neighbor is tapping your phone line, basically set up an extension line off your inside wiring, which is probably why the telephone company doesn't see anything fishy in the wiring closet. Maybe it's an old party line setup which was never fully disconnected.

You could change phone numbers so that that neighbor can't receive phone calls, and set up a PIN with the telephone company to prevent that neighbor from making outgoing calls. Probably need to find a way to physically disconnect that neighbor's tap off your line and ensure that he can't reattach it again.

Answer 2

Sounds more of someone hacking into a jumper station. Those are those green metal post you see around. If it happens more, you should be able to have the telco place a trace on your number to make sure. Keep on eye on your long distance bill, you might want to have your LD (long distance carrier) place an auth code on outging LD calls, in other words you have to enter code to make LD calls.