Ever get a call from a private or “unknown” number and wonder where it came from? Here are 4 steps you can take to try to find out who’s behind a private call. Step 1: Last Call Return (*69) On a mobile phone, dial #69. For landlines, dial *69 to automatically call back the last number that called you. Your phone provider may set a time limit for calling back a number, typically within 30 minutes of the last call.
You won’t get the actual phone number of the person who called you, but you’ll at least get in touch with the caller. Step 2: Call Logs Phone companies track every incoming and outgoing call to your phone – and sometimes calls that come from private numbers are unmasked in these logs. You can look at the call records on your phone, then match up the date and time to your phone company’s usage log – which comes with your monthly statement.
If you track down the phone number and want to learn more about it before dialing back, try a Reverse Phone Search. Step 3: Use a Paid Service You can use a subscription service, such as TrapCall, available for both iOS and Android phones.
With the app, you’ll automatically decline an incoming call from a private or masked number. Then TrapCall will unmask the phone number and any associated caller ID information. Step 4: Call Tracing If you feel you are being harassed by someone with a private number, you can try Call Tracing. After receiving a call from a blocked number, dial #57 (or *57 from a landline) and follow your phone company’s recorded instructions. A recorded message will tell you whether the phone company successfully traced the caller.
If a private caller is traced successfully at least three times and you have kept a documented log of the dates and times you activated call tracing, you can contact local law enforcement and your phone company to request that action be taken against the offending caller. If you found this video helpful, don't forget to like and subscribe!.
