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Telemarketers have existed as long as the telephone has, of course. But with the introduction of endless online databases and companies relentlessly begging for your information anytime you go to buy something, apply for a job, or do literally anything online, it’s easier than ever for people to get your phone number.
While it’s easy enough to ignore incoming calls when your caller ID says something like Scam Likely or Blocked Number, it’s a real hassle to feel like you constantly have to hide from your own phone. If you want to know how to block restricted calls and regain your freedom, we’re here to help.
What Are Restricted Phone Calls?
When we say restricted phone calls, we’re addressing a large umbrella of things. Restricted phone calls are any calls that show up on your phone as “no caller ID,” “unknown,” “private,” “marketing call,” or similar epithets.
These unknown numbers register on your caller ID because the person — or, let’s be honest, automated phone bank — calling you has chosen to keep their identity private.
It’s possible that some of these calls might come from legitimate sources. For instance, it’s common for doctors to make anonymous calls to protect patients’ privacy. It’s also usual for the police to use private numbers for the same reason. So, while it’s tempting to dismiss any unknown calls as robocalls or spam calls, that’s not necessarily the case.
That said, many restricted phone calls are from less-than-savory sources. They choose to block their contract information to bait you into answering the call, worried it might be something important — like one of the above examples.
These scam calls are on the rise, and they can cause some serious problems. The more people avoid unknown callers by default, the more difficult it can be to contact someone from private institutions in necessary situations. In fact, it’s estimated that 94% of calls from an unknown caller go unanswered.
What Happens if You Answer a Restricted Call?
As we’ve just touched on, it’s hard to avoid answering these calls. Sometimes, they can be really important, and it’s difficult to know the difference. If you answer a restricted call, the best case scenario is it’s actually someone like your doctor, employer, or a police officer letting you know that they’ve found a briefcase full of millions of dollars that belongs to you.
The worst-case scenario is a lot more worrying. Often, these calls are part of a scam or phishing attack. This kind of call is actually on the rise, especially among older adults. In 2023 alone, almost $770 million was lost to phone-related scams nationally.
Scammers might be after personal information like banking details or social security numbers. They can sound surprisingly legitimate and often have access to just enough personal information to get you to engage. When you’re busy, and the call seems plausible and urgent, it’s all too easy to give them what they want without doing your due diligence.
Even if you don’t engage with scammers, answering restricted calls at all can be a problem. When you answer, you signal to fraudsters that your line is in use. It’ll encourage them to keep calling. It might even encourage them to sell your information to even more scammers, making the problem worse.
The last reason to avoid answering these calls is the most common and most annoying. They waste your time! You might be totally aware of scam calls and be almost certain the person on the other end of the line is trying to commit a crime, but you can still waste valuable time trying to make sure.
Can You Find Out Who’s Calling?
By definition, restricted calls don’t have a visible number attached to them, as the caller is intentionally hiding their identity. However, there are some ways you can try to track down this information if you think you may have missed an important call.
And if you want to know how to call someone who blocked you so you can plot a revenge campaign, we’re in. Call us. Just not on a restricted number.
Dial *69
If you’re old enough to remember landlines and prank calls, you’ve probably heard of *69 before. It’s an automatic way to redial the last number that called you — so if someone calls to ask if your refrigerator is running and hides their caller ID, you can ring that punk’s parents back right quick.
Once you finish your call or send it straight to voicemail, dial *69 and press call. It should give you a recording with your previous call’s details, which will hopefully include the caller’s phone number. That way, you can block that individual number.
It isn’t, however, foolproof. If the caller has used particular blocking apps or technology to hide their identity, *69 might not be enough.
Contact Your Service Provider
If *69 fails and you’re being harassed by a restricted caller, reach out to your service provider. They might have a record of the number beyond what you have access to, which can allow that specific caller to be blocked. They also might be able to use their own blocking features to enhance your spam protection.
Naturally, dealing with your phone carrier might not be the simplest way to handle this. It might come with a lot of redirected calls and endless hold music. To make this process as easy and pain-free as possible, make sure you’re armed with the right information.
Keep a specific log with the dates and times of the calls in question so that you’re not scrambling for answers … and getting put on hold again.
If You’re Getting a Lot of Calls, Should You Worry?
In general, no. Restricted and spam calls are increasingly the norm. And while there are things you can do to minimize the amount of time you spend dealing with them, they’re hard to avoid completely. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong.
That said, if you’ve answered some of these restricted calls and been surprised by the specific information they have access to, it’s worth doing some checks.
Take a look at your credit report to make sure there’s no suspicious activity, and change your passwords on any significant accounts. Often, information like phone numbers and email addresses is sold from innocuous sources, but it can sometimes have a deeper and more dangerous root.
Additionally, if you’re getting repeated calls from the same restricted number, you might want to answer it at least once. Don’t engage a spammer or suspected fraudster, and don’t spend too much time on the line. In the event it actually is an important, legitimate call from a private number, repeated calls from the same line might be a good indication.
There’s one situation in which you should definitely take some precautions, however. And that’s if your elderly parents or grandparents are receiving an excess of restricted calls to their mobile phone or landline. It might indicate that they’ve answered calls previously, and scammers have identified them as a likely target due to being a bit older.
Even if your relative, loved one, or crabby neighbor is sharp as a tack, it’s worth taking a few steps to help them block these calls. Scammers can be clever and persistent, and people in the upper age brackets are most at risk.
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How To Block Unwanted Calls
Blocking restricted and otherwise unwanted calls varies depending on your service provider. If your Android phone or Apple device doesn’t seem to adhere to these steps, it’s worth double-checking with your phone carrier’s FAQs to see if their instructions vary.
If you’ve answered these spam calls and found someone trying to scam you, there’s one additional step you can take, no matter what phone you use. You can report scams on the FCC website. It may seem like a hassle, but if we all do it, it can really make a difference.
On an iPhone
If you’re using an iPhone, you have two options. The first is to use the blocking feature to ban individual callers. This won’t work for most restricted numbers, as there’s inherently no caller ID attached. But it can be useful for robocalls that spoof specific numbers.
- Step 1: Go into your phone app.
- Step 2: Select your favorites, recent calls, or voicemail.
- Step 3: Choose the recent caller you want to block, scroll down to the bottom of that contact information screen, and select Block caller.
The second and potentially more useful feature is to send all unknown or spam callers straight to voicemail.
- Step 1: Go into your phone settings. Select Apps, and then Phone.
- Step 2: Select either or both “silence unknown callers” and “call blocking & identification.” Through these selections, you can either make it so that you only receive calls from people on your contact lists, or you can silence junk callers who have been identified by your provider as potential spam or fraud.
On an Android
As with the iPhone, if you have an android device, there are two different options if you want to block unknown or restricted callers.
The first is to block contact numbers individually. Again, this won’t help if the number is unlisted or restricted. But if you have a number — or if you’ve managed to get hold of it using *69 — this can be a great option.
- Step 1: Open your phone app.
- Step 2: Select more options and then your call history.
- Step 3: Tap on the number you want to block.
- Step 4: Choose block/report spam to add that number to your block list.
The other option is to use the device’s built-in spam protection. In general, this setting is on by default on most devices. If you think yours might have gotten switched off based on the painful number of notifications you’re getting, here’s how to check.
- Step 1: Open your phone app.
- Step 2: Select more options, settings, and then caller ID and spam.
- Step 3: Turn “see caller ID and spam” to on or off.
On a Landline
This one is super easy.
- Step 1: Disconnect
- Step 2: Your
- Step 3: Landline
- Step 4: Grandpa
That’s it. That’s the tip.
No — we’re kidding. Mostly. The problem is that landlines don’t often have the same spam-blocking capabilities as your mobile phone. You can try phoning the service provider to see if they can filter out these calls more effectively, but landlines are particularly susceptible to these calls.
This is because, as we’ve touched on, older people are most often targeted by scammers. And since it’s mostly older people who still have and use their landlines, this is a bad combination.
If you’re getting endless restricted calls to your home phone or an elderly relative’s home phone, it’s worth considering alternatives to a landline for protection.
Can You Stop Them From Contacting You?
Prevention is always the best solution. While fiddling with your cell phone settings might help you handle particularly persistent restricted calls, these scams and robocalls are fairly sophisticated.
Well, sophisticated might not be the word. But they’re pretty good at swapping out specific numbers, so you can’t ever totally escape them with the built-in blocker on your device.
There are a few options to try to prevent restricted calls from reaching you in the first place.
1. National Do Not Call Registry
The National Do Not Call Registry should be your first stop. This registry is a government website run by the FCC that allows you to register your home or mobile phone number for free. When you register, new calling restrictions apply to your number that can prevent spam and robocalls from adding your number to their — we’ll say it — evil lists.
That said, the same issues that apply to your phone’s blocking options apply here. The National Do Not Call Registry gives you additional protection, but it’s impossible for anyone to keep up with the constant proliferation of these types of calls.
2. Take Advantage of Do Not Disturb
Most phones have a Do Not Disturb setting. If your phone doesn’t have one automatically, you’ll likely be able to look up an app that serves this purpose in your device’s app store. By setting up a Do Not Disturb schedule, you can at least prevent spam calls and text messages from reaching you during inconvenient hours.
If you set your phone to Do Not Disturb while you sleep or during your work day, you can get some peace of mind. You can even add individual contacts to a list of exceptions so your mom will still be able to reach you whenever her little heart desires.
3. Use Third-Party Apps
This is the nuclear option and the best option. You’ll get the best results by using apps that are designed specifically to make your phone-related life a lot easier. While there are many options out there, we’ll admit to a bit of a bias — Burner is the best option with the most features.
With our app, you can create a custom phone number — or several! — to help streamline and organize your phone. All of these numbers will be directed through our app, so there’s no need to fuss with additional phone plans or devices.
If you’re worried these spam calls are getting your info from things you sign up for online, you can have a designated phone number for that purpose … and then you can mute it without interfering with your main numbers. There’s also superior spam blocking, without the constant fuss of hitting block this caller every 10 minutes — although you can do that, too.
Leave Them on Read
Seeing your call log packed full of spam calls and restricted numbers is incredibly frustrating. It’s even worse if you’re constantly checking your mobile phone when it rings, only to see that the caller is disingenuous. While you can block individual callers or put your phone on do not disturb, these aren’t always effective solutions.
Rather than putting yourself at risk for fraud or hearing a crucial voicemail too late, opt for the smart solution. Try Burner today and turn your messy, too-busy line into an actually useful phone again without spending hours messing with your call settings.
Sources:
Call Blocking Tools and Resources | Federal Communications Commission
Phone Complaint | Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Center
FBI Warns Public to Beware of Scammers Impersonating FBI Agents and Other Government Officials | FBI
