For whatever reason there is an urge for some people to just harass others via telephones. To end this the first step is to identify how they are doing this, the easiest way is to use *69 or look at caller id.
- If the number says it is a Private Caller on your caller ID or when you dial *69 turn on Anonymous call rejection.
- It the number is “Out Of Areaâ€, “Unavailableâ€, etc. then I suggest calling your phone company to see if you can block this. Perhaps ask them about Call Screening or Call Intercept
- If the number is 000-012-3456 then they are using a program called Skype. Call your phone company and ask if you can block a specific international number. I’ve done this via Call Intercept by Verizon.
- Another alternative if you know the number they are calling from is to see if you can do a specific call forward. I’d recommend forwarding it to 641-985-7888, which is the rejection hotline, or get permission to forward it to your local authority so they can trace it.
- If they are harassing you on your cell phone then I recommend seeing if your cell phone actually has the ability to block numbers. I use a Verizon RAZR and know for a fact it can block numbers that are not on its contact list.
- If none of this helps you, I recommend letting the phone ring atleast twice before you pick the phone up and if it is the offender hang up and then pick the phone back up and dial *57 to do a Customer Originated Trace and wait for the recording to tell you the number was traced(should be within a minute).
Advanced Terms:
Anonymous Call Rejection(ACR): A service that will tell people who chose to block their number that you are not accepting calls from private numbers. Chances are you can activate this by dialing *77 and you can turn it off by dialing *87
Customer Originated Trace: Attempts to trace the last phone call, you will not find out the location but can then notify the local authorities and they will get the location and pursue legal actions.
Specific Call Forwarding: Forward a specific phone # to another phone #. For example if you do not want your boss calling your house you can forward his number to your cell phone.
Call Intercept: The best way in my opinion to block unwanted calls, it may cost money but if you explain your situation you may get it for free.
Call Screening: Will prompt the user to record their name and then give you the option to accept or deny the call.
Skype: A program which uses Voice Over IP technology to make phone calls from your computer. It is free to call any US/Canada phone number and uses the number 000-012-3456.
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I just got a skype call with that weird number, but someone just breathed as a message and then hung up. Why would they do that in the first place? This is the second time that this has happened.
how do i block calls that are not in my contacts list? you mentioned in your article with Verizon and a razor this can be done. How?
thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
[...] and you can change the allow from ALL to either None or Contacts We thank you for your question! Question was from: Tutorial Ninjas » Blog Archive » Stop Unwanted Phone Calls [...]
Correane check the comment above for your answer
I have been getting calls on my cell phone from 2 numbers. One is listed as “restricted” the other is listed. In trying to find out the listed number, it has been next to impossible! I have used online services to pay for information on the owner of the number to no avail. I believe that the listed and restricted numbers are linked somehow. I have also been getting text messages of an eerie nature from the listed number. In calling the listed number from a pay phone, I found it was a cell phone, but no name is provided in the message. How can I find out who is calling me or texting me? Or how can I get this person to stop? What do you suggest I do? I get calls at least once or twice a day from either or both of these numbers!
I have just had a similar experience to Allie. @ 10 pm I got three calls from a young man that were hard to understand (both the background noise and his manner of talking). First time it happened, it was listed as “private”, then the second and third calls had the phone #. I called him back to try and find out who he was and what was up - he didn’t answer my questions and hung up. I chalked it up as a prank. But now it happened again at 12:45 am, waking me up - he said “tell my fiance to answer the phone”. I called him back to tell him to stop, but he just hung up on me before I got more than a few words out.
I did call ATT (via the 611 #). The rep was sympathetic and gave me options, but told me that they don’t have the technology to block numbers/calls like that.
THANKS SO MUCH , THIS HELPED ME OUT ALOT AFTER I WAS GETTING RESTRICTED CALLS FOR OVER A YEAR AND THE CELL PHONE CO AND POLICE DID NOTHING .
This for Allie, you are able to block text messages from individuals, at least with my service provider which is alltel, so check with yours. you send a text message to the number 8888 and the message should read as follows:
type the letter “B” (then hit the # key to make a space)then add the 10 digit MDN (mobile directory number, or otherwise known as their phone number. Then hit the send button. This will immediiately go into effect. The texting party will then receive a message the next time they text you that they are being blocked. Hope this helps someone.
to unblock you insert a “U” space and then the 10 digit number.
1c375d9c7309
1c375d9c730940008b0d
If you are using a cell phone check your security options in the phone’s setup menu. You may be able to restrict calls to only accept calls from people/numbers in your phone’s address book. All other calls go directly to voicemail. Your cell phone will not even ring if someone not in your address book calls.
Next, see if your phone has selective ring tones. Assign a ringtone for every person/number in your address book then set your main ring tone to silent or vibrate. Again all other calls from people not programmed into the phone go directly to voicemail.
If you have selective ring tones which most cell phones do, save the number of the person that keeps calling and set it to silent or vibrate, that way you don’t hear the phone ringing and it goes straight to voicemail.
Still not working? OK, signup for a voicemail service that can screen your calls. Callwave works good. When someone calls just don’t answer, the call will be forwarded to callwave, they will hear a voicemail message then be instructed to leave a message, callwave will then call you back and let you hear the message as it’s being recorded, you can then press 1 and the call is connected and you can talk to the caller or just hang up and it goes to voicemail.
Still being harrased? Now it’s time to get serious.
Signup for callcentric at http://www.callcentric.com it’s a VOIP internet phone service like vonage. Cost around $6-$10 a month depending on the package plus .01 cents a minute. Now you can forward your calls to your new callcentric number. Then setup call treatments (up to 30 numbers). When someone calls your phone, don’t answer, let it forward to your callcentric number, then it will be restricted in different ways depending on your settings. You can send that call directly to voicemail, send it to a busy signal, send it to an error message (your call is not being accepted), or foward the call to another number like Dominoes or a movie theater. Outgoing forwarded calls will be charged .01 a minute which can be charged to paypal or a credit card OR you can setup another FREE callcentric account using a different name then forward to the other callcentric VOIP number which is FREE since VOIP to VOIP calls are free, setup the voicemail for that number using a different name. Now the unwanted caller calls your phone, you already stored their number with no ring tone, don’t answer the phone, then it forwards to callcentric, it is already stored on your call treatments to forward to your other fake callcentric number with fake voicemail message, now everytime that person calls they get a voicemail message from John Doe instead of you and you never have to deal with the caller.
Play around a little and you may find some other neat tricks. Make thet person go through hell everytime they call, sooner or later they give up. Works great on telemarketers and bill collectors too.
im receiving hundreds of phone calls silent and violent threats from a mobile and an unknown number from DUBAI I KNOW THE MOBILE NUMBER.IS IT POSSIBLE TO BLOCK CALLS FROM ABROAD AS IM AT MY WITS END.
can altel phone company trace call made from land line to cell phone made for a lengthy period of time please tell me when or how far back can they trace