New Service Rates Your Phone Number Just Like Your Credit History

Most web companies want to attract as many users as possible. Starting today, web developers have a new option: the PhoneID Score, a new reputation tracking service from mobile security company TeleSign. If you sign up for a new web service that's using PhoneID Score and provide your phone number, the service will send your number to TeleSign. To determine your rating, TeleSign looks at a wide range of factors, such as what type of phone number you're using -- whether you're using a land line, a mobile phone, or VOIP number. If you're using a pre-paid phone in, say, Indonesia, where most phones are pre-paid, then TeleSign won't ding you, says CTO Charles McColgan.