private static String getNumberEncoding(String characters) {

		if ("ABC".contains(characters)) {
			return "2";
		} else if ("DEF".contains(characters)) {
			return "3";
		} else if ("GHI".contains(characters)) {
			return "4";
		} else if ("JKL".contains(characters)) {
			return "5";
		} else if ("MNO".contains(characters)) {
			return "6";
		} else if ("PQRS".contains(characters)) {
			return "7";
		} else if ("TUV".contains(characters)) {
			return "8";
		} else if ("WXYZ".contains(characters)) {
			return "9";
		} else {
			return characters;
		}

	}