Nothing new afaik. I thought telephone numbers have been used all the time as one part of assessing reputation. As well as when you order cabs or pizza (or what ever), if 100% of hundreds of the calls you have made this far have been pranks, I'm quite sure they won't send more pizza or cabs. Or if you're making 10th bomb threat today, and you'll keep doing that on daily basis as local village idiot. Same applies to telephone marketing companies, I haven't ever bought anything, and they're not trying to sell me anything anymore.