How do you react to private calls?

@tups My Doctors office comes in as a private caller. That’s the only one that I get.

Occasionally I will answer a phone call that shows up as a cryptic caller ID (anonymous, out-of-state, secret police) with “Mrs. Calder’s secretary” or “Mrs. Calder’s nurse”.

It’s a conversation stopper, if there is indeed a real person on the line. .

Yesterday I tried to retrace a cell phone caller who hung up without leaving voice mail. Using the White Pages for reverse phone numbers, I was told I would have to pay cash money for the caller’s name.

Most the time I screen my calls and pay no attention. People who want me leave voice mail. I call back 30’ later.

I’ll usually answer a call that says “private call.”

If they need something they can leave a voicemail. If not, I ignore it.

Its probably a telemarketer. There are ways to make the call appear to be private when it isn’t. If it’s silent when you pick up that makes it more likely to be a telemarketer – using one of those calling systems that automatically dials the numbers and connects you to a CSR only after you pick up. The silences occur when you pick up and no CSR is available.

@downtide Okay, sounds a little weird, but I guess it would make sense. Could that explain why the caller hung up when my friend answered?

@XOIIO Yes, that is my thought exactly. It just think it has been going on for a long time.

I don’t understand why you would be afraid to answer it. It wasn’t all that long ago that no one ever knew who their calls came from. At least if you answer, there’s a chance that you can tell them to stop calling, if you want that.

I’m with @glacial. I’m old enough to remember when phones had cords and Caller ID,voicemail, and such didn’t exist. And I know too many people like me who don’t like leaving messages to use the, “If it’s important, they’ll leave a message!” line.

I’m old enough also, but back then no telemarketers, fund raisers, political survey takers or robowhatevers ever called.

The worst were the young teens who phoned and then shrieked, “Do you have Prince Albert in a can” and then hung up. We thought we were clever, original and hilarious doing that.

@jerv So am I. It’s not that long ago.

@gailcalled Good point; however, telemarketers can be told not to call back, and I find that this in addition to the Do Not Call list has reduced my telemarketing calls to almost zero. If I never answer and tell them to remove my name from the list, then why wouldn’t they keep calling?

I don’t answer them.

@glacial: Exhaustion?

They aren’t worth my used minutes to find out who they are. They will leave a message if it’s really important. If they are calling all the time and not leaving a message then you don’t want to talk to them. I was told there are creative ways to get around do not call registry. I don’t know how true this is but it wouldn’t surprise me. They ,or it,are calling you in the first place. They will do it again when your number comes around again. What I might do if I’m feeling industrious is to save and title “no answer”. Same as I do for every other caller I hope to never hear from again.

@woodcutter What I might do if I’m feeling industrious is to save and title “no answer”
What do you mean with this?

@tups I suppose that if I feel like taking any action at all it would be to save it like that. Meaning, for me to even go that far I would need to be in a very motivated state of mind which for stuff like that isn’t very often. I haven’t knock on wood, been bothered to the point of being very industrious fooling with my phone book memory. Important numbers go there.

I never check the caller id. I always just answer the phone.
If it is a salesman, I remind them that I am on a do not call list. Occasionally, I ask what they are wearing.

Set your phone to not accept private calls. In my area the code is *77 to activate Anonymous Call Rejection. Dial *87 to turn it off. This function is free of charge. The caller must decloak by dialing *82.

I get those, but I don’t answer them.

@gailcalled Is your refrigerator running?

This is why I so like the combination of a message phone and caller ID. I almost never answer my phone any more. Once in awhile if I’m next to the phone and it’s someone that I know or expect to be calling, then I’ll answer that call. Otherwise, I can ignore ringing phones as easily as random noises on the street. It makes life a lot easier.

And the blocking feature on the phone is ideal for the telemarketers who simply won’t give up until someone answers their incessant calls. No one will here, at least not while I’m alive.

Any number that isn’t in my address book gets ignored. They’ll leave a message if it’s important.

If they don’t leave a message, I’ll search the number. I have the Number Guru app where people comment on phone numbers, I have a White Pages app with a reverse number search, and sometimes I’ll just enter the number in a web search.

If the number is Spam, I add it to the Spam contact in my address book, which is set to no notifications, no vibrations, no text notifications, and the ringtone is the doorbell sound (I grew up without a doorbell; so when I hear one I am conditioned to mentally ‘hear’ “Avon calling”, which represents intrusive sales in my mind).

If it’s a somewhat legit entity – like my car service or cable company with a marketing pitch, I identify the company in my contacts, but tag “Marketing” to the number.

@woodcutter It is a private number calling, it is not possible for me to track down their ID.

Could be a debt collector that has the wrong number. But it’s weird that the caller hung up when your friend answered the phone.
@tups You might contact your carrier (I’m assuming this is on a cell phone) and see if their technical department can help you out. Make a point of taking the call, then note the date and time you answered for the techs.

I answer them. The last one just said “George” repeatedly.

Whacko! But there ARE ways to find out what the number is. Contact the carrier or maybe even the police.

@tups Even if the number doesn’t show on the display I think the phone knows it from before. At least mine does.

Mostly I ignore them. I figure if they will leave a message if it’s something they really want to speak to me.

It can’t be that important if they’re not leaving a message.

I don’t usually get them, but I just got 7 calls two days ago. That was weird. O.o
I figure if they care about me they know how to leave a message.

I pick up when I’m bored just to joke around with them if it’s a prank call.

You know you have no life when you accept a call from a telemarketer on a Friday night and spend an hour joking around with them! (True story!)

Sometimes, there are people that get ahold of your number and call, just to mess with you, if I were you, I would block the number, or if they keep accesively calling, call the police, and have them trace the number to the caller