Many of the 100 million Americans using landlines today have been prey to phone scams, losing an average of $350 per person in 2021. With the number of spam calls increasing yearly, *60 to block spam calls on your landline phone is a short-term solution.
This article provides information on the following:
- How to identify and block unwanted callers
- An alternative to manual blocking: Community Phone spam-blocker services.
Who Is an Unknown Caller?
When you receive calls from an "Unknown Caller," it may mean that the number was not interpreted correctly by your telecom operator. In most cases, these calls are spam that you should not answer. You can let the call go to voicemail and respond if it is essential.
Call Tracing: How to Identify a Phone Number
Identifying unknown callers can help you protect yourself, your business, and your loved ones from scam calls.
1. Check Caller ID
If you suspect a spam call, check the caller ID after you hang up or when the call has stopped ringing.
Each telephone service provider has a different caller ID option. Depending on your provider, there might be a fee for using this service, and you may have to enable the service. Your service provider may need to rectify the issue if you have never seen a caller ID on your phone.
2. Dial *57
Phone companies provide anonymous caller ID service to customers because they keep records of previous calls. You can use the *57 services to find the unknown phone number and possibly other details if you have a phone carrier.
You will hear a recorded message when you dial *57 and get instructions to follow for a trace. You will receive a message if the trace is successful and may have to pay for it. Unfortunately, only some carriers offer this service and those who do often charge a fee.
3. Use Apps
A caller ID app reveals the caller's name even if you don't have their contact information stored in your phone. Many apps exist for both Android and iOS that identify the caller.
Truecaller (Android, iOS)
The Truecaller app can alert you to calls from unknown numbers and numbers that phone scammers frequently use. You can block unwanted callers or texts and search for unknown numbers using the app.
Trapcall (Android, iOS)
You can use Trapcall to identify hidden incoming calls and 'unmask' their identities. With this app, you can record your calls, block unwanted numbers, and block any number that bothers you. Android and iPhone users can download it for free.
How to Block an Unknown Number
Use one of these methods to block calls on a landline, Android phone, or iPhone.
Block Unknown Calls on Landline
Most options for blocking phone numbers on your landline phone require that you receive the call first. Manual blocking of numbers depends on your phone's capacity and service provider. Many landline providers do not provide spam-blocking services.
Community Phone understands how proactively blocking spam calls can protect you, your business, and your loved ones. They have different spam-blocking options to cater to people's unique needs.
Community Phone's Spam Call Blocking
- When you sign up for the Community Phone spam blocker, your phone will not ring immediately when a call comes.
- The caller will hear a recording that asks them to press a number.
- Robocalls start playing their recording the minute they hear a voice other than the phone ring.
- As soon as they start playing their recording, mistaking the Community Phone recording as a person, it gets flagged as a robocall.
- Community Phone disconnects the call and blocks the number from reaching you again before your phone rings.
- If the caller follows the instructions and your phone rings, you can always let the call go to voicemail with Community Phone's voicemail feature. You can choose to respond to the voicemail at your convenience.
Community Phone Whitelisting Services
This option is ideal for people with dementia and other ailments which would not want to be inconvenienced by unwanted calls.
- Contact Community Phone customer care at 866-914-1428.
- Compile the list of numbers you want to accept calls from and share it with the rep.
- Community Phone will whitelist these numbers for you.
- Your landline will allow calls only from those numbers and block calls from all other numbers.
Manual Call Blocking
Spam call-blocking in phones allows you to block numbers after receiving the call. These providers usually suggest using the *60 code as explained below:
- Pick up your receiver and press *60
- A message will guide you through blocking a number
- You can block the most recent call by dialing #01#
- Using #, dial the number (including the area code), followed by # to block the other number.
Some phone models, like the CPR V5000, allow you to block up to 1500 numbers. However, you will have to block these numbers one at a time on a landline phone.
Block Unknown Calls on Android
On an Android phone, "unknown" does not refer to numbers not saved in your contacts. You can block unknown numbers on an Android phone by following the steps below.
- Click on the Phone app.
- Click the three-dot menu, then select Settings.
- You can block private and unknown numbers on your phone by clicking "block unknown/hidden numbers."
Block Unknown Calls on iOS
You can disable unknown calls using the iPhone app by selecting the "Silence Unknown Callers" option.
- Select Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers
- On the next screen, toggle ON Silence, Unknown Callers.
- Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone
- This feature can, however, block genuine callers because of not listing them in your contact list.
Whenever you receive a call from an unknown number, it will be sent directly to voicemail and appear in your recent call list.
All the apps and phone feature only allow you to block numbers one by one manually or even block open calls due to app limitations.
Trust Community Phone’s automatic spam blocker to take care of blocking unwanted calls while you can allocate the same time to something more productive.
Download Community Phone’s FREE Spam Blocking App
Community Phone now offers a free spam-blocking app for iOS devices, providing the best protection against unwanted calls. It blocks spam calls on your cell phone and landline before either phone rings, giving you peace of mind.
The Community Phone app has advanced features, such as notifications to alert you about the numbers it blocks. It has been carefully designed to ensure complete user satisfaction and convenience.
The Community Phone spam-blocking app is completely free to download from the Apple store, ensuring that everyone can protect their phones from annoying spam calls. Once installed, Community Phone works in the background to monitor incoming calls and blocks any suspicious activity.
The Community Phone app is incredibly easy to use, allowing users to customize settings according to their preferences. You can choose what type of calls you want Community Phone to block. Landline users can also set up a whitelist for specific contacts in the app, so Community Phone's filters will not block them.
Thanks to its advanced algorithms and AI-backed technology, what sets Community Phone apart from other spam-blocking apps is its ability to block even unknown numbers. This ensures complete safety and security while using the Community Phone app. In addition, Community Phone has many other features, such as real-time monitoring, caller name recognition, call stats tracking, and more!
Overall, Community Phone’s FREE Spam Blocking App provides an effective solution against annoying spam calls without compromising performance or reliability. Its optimized features and intuitive interface make blocking unwanted calls a breeze!
Who is Community Phone?
Community Phone is the best wireless internet service provider in the US, fighting to keep the landline alive. Their landline base connects your phone to cell towers in your area, giving you strong coverage and excellent voice quality. With fantastic service in rural and low-reception areas, no contracts or hidden charges, affordable plans, and reliable service, Community Phone is quickly rising to the top.
Community Phone Features
Community Phone combines the reliability of a landline, VoIP-like features, and the freedom of wireless access to provide the best landline service for households and businesses.
Call Routing
Route calls to an individual or the appropriate department with the Community Phone call routing feature. Depending on your business needs and how you want to service your customers, you can have multiple phones ring simultaneously so an available rep can answer the call. Or, you can have the phone system ring a second number if the first line is busy or isn’t answering.
Call Forwarding
This feature is for you if you are a startup or business owner constantly on the move but still want to stay in touch with customers. To keep your number private but still be available for customers, you can get a number from Community Phone and share that with customers. Community Phone will forward the calls from this number to your cell phone, ensuring you get all the customer calls.
Custom Dial Menu
Create a custom greeting, route calls, and share important information by programming Community Phone’s custom dial menu to create a great impression among customers and enhance your business reputation.
Voicemail- to-email
You can record your voicemail and send transcriptions and recordings to your email account so that anyone who missed your call can get back to you.
Call Waiting
Never miss another call with the Community Phone call waiting feature. Two beeps will alert you of a call waiting if you are already engaged on one call to let you decide if you want to take the second call or let it go to voicemail.
3-Way Calling
It involves connecting three different people on a single phone call, also called a conference call. All three parties can speak simultaneously on the call since each can hear the other two conversations. It is not a "mute" conversation - everyone is free to speak whenever they wish.
FAQs
Is there any difference between an Unknown caller and no caller ID?
The term "No Caller ID" refers to the caller hiding his mobile number using a unique feature on his device. In contrast, "Unknown Caller" refers to a telephone number that telecom companies cannot interpret.
How do I identify an unknown number?
When you receive a call and need to know who the caller is, one classic method is to call back and reconnect, but this is not an advisable option if the call is possibly spam. Using a reverse phone lookup site can also find out who called you.
What does it mean when an unknown number is calling?
When an unknown number calls, the caller has dialed *67 before the number to block their called ID.
Is an unknown caller always spam?
Unknown callers are mostly spam. Although engaging with anonymous users is okay, we suggest you not pick up the call.
Can you trace an unknown caller?
In most cases, it is possible to trace private, blocked, and restricted numbers. Due to anonymous data, unavailable or out-of-area calls are not traceable.
Why do I keep getting calls from an unknown number?
Entering numbers on particular websites or databases may trigger spam calls. You always were cautious when entering your phone number into databases because they are often open to thieves and scammers.
Can you block calls from private numbers?
Yes, you can block calls from private numbers using the following steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap 3 dots from the Keypad tab
- Select: Settings
- Go to Block Numbers
- Turn on: Block Unknown/Private Numbers
Does * 61 block unwanted calls?
Yes, *61 can help you block unwanted calls.
Conclusion
You can permanently block calls by adding numbers to the Do not call registry and downloading anti-spam software. You can block specific callers from calling your phone using this feature.
However, most landline phones have limiting call-blocking features, as you have to pick up the call before blocking it. Get Community Phone, your answer to blocking marketing calls on a landline.
Community Phone offers robocall blocking software for just $5 a month that blocks spam and unwanted calls before your phone rings. Talk to the Community Phone landline specialists today to learn more!