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by debtahals wears a curiosity COAT on March 10th, 2009

debtahals wears a curiosity COAT

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My phone announces who's calling & displays the name/number. However, computer advertisers are getting through as "private caller" & no number. Can't tell them apart from a real private caller. What's up with that?

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Answers. 5 helpful answers below.

  • by The Chief on March 10th, 2009

    The Chief

    The default for any phone number you get from a phone company allows your number to show up on Caller ID. If you choose, you may block this feature from being sent when you make calls so that others will not know it is you calling without actually answering.

    Being able to utilize Caller ID as a receiver of calls is usually a paid service: In other words, even though the information is transmitted when people call, you either will not get that information sent to your phone by your phone company or it won't be something your phone will be able to understand and display.

    Unlisted numbers are usually blocked...because that's part of what people who have unlisted numbers desire: They don't wish to have their phone number being advertised without their express consent.

    Some telemarketers spoof the number, so that any return calls go through a central call center instead of back to the actual company phone making the call. However, some fraudulently block or spoof a fake caller ID number to keep from being identified or traced. This is illegal in the U.S. under Federal law and companies have been sued by individuals and fined by the FCC for this.

    Read the information on the following site.

    http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/callerid.html

    I once saw a TV show (60 Minutes, maybe?) many years ago about someone who spent a lot of personal time fighting telemarketers. He strenuously objected to paying for a phone line in his house and then having to put up with telemarketers calling all the time. Many of the laws and telephone services which have come about over the years have been as a result of people like him doing the things they did.

    One thing this person did was keep a notebook and a clock next to the table his phone was on. Every time he got a call from a telemarketer, told them he was recording the call (required by law), he got the company name, phone numbers, talked to supervisors and got names, wrote all this information down in a log along with the date and time. Then he formally requested that they remove his name from their list and never call his number again.

    Armed with this information, if any company called him back he would also record everything, note it in his log, inform them that he had requested they not call his number again, repeated his request. Then he took his information to an attorney he had on retainer and they would file a law suit against the company for violating the legal statutes he was invoking when he requested they not call him any more. It was easy victory in the courtroom with all the data on hand, and verifiable through telephone company records and the recorded information he maintained.

    Initially it cost him money out of his pocket. But in short order, the money he got from the law suits payed his attorney and it became a self-supporting hobby: telemarketers were essentially paying him to sue the pants off of them for calling him.

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  • by RosieGHM Jetpacker on March 10th, 2009

    RosieGHM Jetpacker

    Add to that "unknown name, unknown number" and "number unavailable" and it about covers every source of call we get. If we are home we read the display and never pick up..these unidentified hacks never leave a message. Anyone who knows us knows to talk..we never ever ever pick up unless we know who is calling, which is displayed on our phone when the call is legit. Scammers and con artists spend their lives trying to con and outfox. :)

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  • by miki on March 11th, 2009

    miki

    The simplest answer is if you don't recognize the number, don't answer. If they don't leave a message on you voicemail, you probably didn't want to talk to them anyway. I've gotten some weird ones from caller ID listing the number as 000-0000.

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  • by Brian on March 10th, 2009

    Brian

    Most callers have an option to block the delivery of their phone numbers to the called party.

    You can get a feature that rejects calls from unidentified numbers so that they never reach your phone.

    You can also register your phone number at https://www.donotcall.gov/

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  • by a 10sEn is the AB Ninja Lounge bartender on March 10th, 2009

    a 10sEn is the AB Ninja Lounge bartender

    Some of them are getting sneaky about that because they know people are not likely to answer when it's a telemarketer. Some are out of the country while others block their number. I use the general principle if I don't know who it is, I don't answer it. That way, I don't interact with telemarketers. Sure, I may also miss a call from someone I know, but I can call them back.

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