When your phone rings, what’s your initial response: to answer it or to check first and see who’s calling? For many of us — probably most of us — it’s the latter. Between the overwhelming number of scam and spam calls that happen each year, and the (relatively smaller) number of specific people or companies we don’t want to talk to, it’s become a reflexive habit to check the incoming number before answering.
Of course, that raises the question of what to do when you receive a private call. Your display may say “blocked” or “unknown” rather than “private number,” but the point is the same: You don’t know who’s on the other end of the line or what they want. Should you take that call?
Caller ID Blocking and Private Calls
When you make a phone call, your phone identifies itself to the network carrying the call. By default, the caller ID system displays that identifying information — your number and sometimes your name — to the person receiving the call. On the whole it’s a good system, and convenient for the person on the receiving end.
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That being said, for privacy reasons you sometimes might not want your number displayed. It’s easy to do that on a per-call basis by pressing *67 (on a landline) or #67 (on a cell phone). Most phone carriers can block caller ID for you, either through their customer service department or through their app on your phone. On your phone itself, iOS and Android both offer settings to block your number from caller ID.
When you receive a call that displays as “Private number,” “Private call,” “Unknown number” or some variation on that wording, it means that your caller has chosen to remain anonymous. Some do so for perfectly legitimate reasons, but others do not.
What Private Calls Can Mean
A private call can be perfectly innocuous. Your caller might simply be privacy-conscious. Sometimes your caller’s phone carrier might experience a network issue that temporarily disrupts caller ID, or it could be a brand new line: Newly issued numbers can take a little while to show up in the databases phone carriers use for caller ID purposes. Similarly, if your caller has recently changed phone providers, caller ID may not identify them (and yes, this happens with businesses too).
Sometimes the call is from a legitimate source, but one that you’d rather avoid: the pushy salesman you’re deliberately dodging, perhaps, or the account manager about that car loan you’re struggling to pay (caller ID is a real issue when you’re in the collections business). Other times, the call may be from less-legitimate sources including scammers and spammers.
Recent “robocall” legislation has tightened the rules around caller ID and several kinds of automated or scam calling, which is why you’ve probably noticed new caller ID messages such as “Fraud” or “Potential scam.” Those are helpful when they show up, but often you’ll still simply see “Private call” or “Unknown number.”
Should I Answer a Private Call?
So what happens if you answer a private call? Sometimes, nothing: It’s just someone you actually know who has chosen to have their number blocked. It might be a legitimate or even important call. That being said, there are some less-innocuous outcomes.
One is that you find yourself talking to someone you wanted to avoid, perhaps an ex or a stalker. A second possibility is that you’ll be hounded by bill collectors or find yourself fielding promotional calls. Avoiding calls from scammers and fraud artists is also urgent: You can’t fall for a scam you don’t hear; and some robocalls do nothing more than establish that your number is active and will be answered. Once they know that, your number goes on a list of “live ones” that they and other criminals can use.
Those are the risks you’ll need to balance. On one hand you might miss a call that’s important, but on the other hand you’re potentially exposing yourself to exploitation if you do answer.
You Have Options With Private Calls
Some people have a hard and fast rule of never answering an unknown call, whether it’s from a blocked number or one they just don’t recognize. In one well-reported case from the fall of 2021, a hiker lost on a Colorado mountain ignored calls from the search and rescue team because he didn’t know the number. That’s an extreme example, but it illustrates an important point: This isn’t an all-or-nothing scenario. You have options beyond answer/don’t answer:
Use #69 (or *69 on a landline) To Return the Mystery Call
Some providers will tell you the number of your last call — which you can write down and search on Spokeo if you don’t recognize it — and then give you the option of calling back. Other carriers simply return the last call, so it’s important to know how your own provider handles that option before you use it (and to block your own number before calling back).
Use #57 (or *57 on a Landline) To Trace the Call
If you’re getting harassed by phone, many carriers offer a call tracing service using this code. Follow the voice prompts to initiate a trace and wait to see if your carrier can identify the caller. There’s often a fee for this service and it’s not available from all carriers.
Use an App To Unmask Private Calls
There are many apps you can install on your phone that unmask blocked calls and let you view the caller’s identity. Often they’re the same apps used to identify and block “robocalls,” so they provide a lot of value for (usually) very little money. Again, once you have a name and number, you can search them on Spokeo to find out exactly who’s calling.
Check the Call Logs on Your Statement
Depending on your carrier, your monthly statement may include a call log showing incoming and outgoing calls. The log sometimes unmasks blocked numbers, so make a note of the date and time of your “mystery calls” and check them against your log. This isn’t a quick solution, but it’s low-cost and requires minimal effort.
Fielding a Private Call
Ultimately, the decision whether to ever answer a private call is a personal one. If you’re a privacy purist or an introvert, or if you’re experiencing some debt issues, you might well decide that ignoring those calls is your best option. On the other hand, if your personality skews more to “let the chips fall where they may,” you might answer them more often than not. You can always hang up or block the troublesome repeat callers.
For most of us, taking the middle road — unmasking the caller after the fact, and then deciding whether to return the call — may be the most appealing option. It requires a little extra effort on your part, but it means you won’t miss legitimate calls and won’t have to deal with scammers and spammers or anyone you’d simply rather avoid.
The options and the tools are there. It’s up to you whether you choose to utilize them.
References:
- Verizon – How To Block Your Number & Block Caller ID: FAQs
- Kim Komando – 5 Ways To Block or Hide Your Number When Making Calls
- Talkroute – 5 Things You Need To Know About Your Caller ID Display Name
- The Guardian – Hiker Lost on US Mountain Ignored Calls From Rescuers Because He Didn’t Recognise the Number
