| Some people and companies can use pretty devious | | | | service, just as an example, you can dial (*77) on your |
| tactics to get you to pick up the phone, even when | | | | phone and wait to hear confirmation that your |
| they know there is a good chance you have no desire | | | | unknown and anonymous calls are now being blocked. |
| to talk with them. One thing many do is make their | | | | There is also a code (*87) that you can use to turn this |
| number come up on your caller ID as 'unknown' or | | | | type of service off. If you have service through |
| 'anonymous'. What that happens, you take your | | | | Vonage, you can use the very same codes. |
| chances when answering. This is something that debt | | | | You may find that most all phone companies use the |
| collectors do in many cases, and is also done by | | | | same codes for the sake of simplicity, but if you try it |
| survey firms, and even telemarketers. If you don't | | | | and nothing happens, you may have to contact your |
| want these types of calls to come through, there are | | | | particular company to see what the code is. Some |
| a few ways that you can try to block them. | | | | may not offer this, and it is not available in some parts |
| These calls can come in any time of the day. Some of | | | | of some states. You can look through your local phone |
| them are marked as unknown or anonymous, but | | | | book for this information (usually in the very front |
| there are also some that are marked as private. | | | | sections) to see if something is listed there. |
| Private numbers might be people you know who have | | | | This code and service usually work very well. It forces |
| blocked their number by being seen by those they call. | | | | someone to identify themselves before they can ring |
| Most do that in an effort to stay off of calling lists. | | | | through to your line, or they can't get through at all. |
| Those people have the option of unblocking their | | | | What you should remember, however, is that you may |
| number on a call-by-call basis, so they can call you | | | | still get some 'out of area' or 'unknown' calls that do |
| with their number displayed if you have it set up so | | | | come through. This is not because your phone code is |
| their call cannot come through otherwise. | | | | not working, but rather, because their phone provider |
| Most companies offer you a way to block these calls, | | | | failed to send through the proper data to display the |
| and it can usually happen by just dialing a code on your | | | | number. In these cases, it is simply a matter of |
| phone. If you have Time Warner Cable digital phone | | | | technology not working correctly. |