"Restricted" phone calls that do not appear on my bill or caller ID list

marysoko

Honorable
Nov 18, 2013
1
0
10,510
I have been receiving calls that show up on my caller ID as "Restricted" and these calls do not show up on my caller ID list after I hang up. Nor do these calls show up on my phone bill at all (they are not listed as 999-999-9999 or anything else). There is, in effect, no record of these calls. Like other "mysterious" or ghost calls I have been reading about, there is never a voice or recording on the line. For a while, I assumed they were some kind of telemarketing scheme, so I ignored the calls altogether. Then I became curious and not only waited for a voice (human or robotic) to eventually start speaking. So far, I have been on line with "restricted" from about 2 minutes to a full 8 minutes, with nothing but silence. Again, there is no record of the call after I hand up. I have called Verizon--they have no record of these calls either. At first, Verizon suggested I buy their service package that would allow me to block "restricted" calls. I am not sure that would even work since there is no record of these calls at all. Verizon also suggested that I could change my phone number (not a particularly good option since I have had this number for many years. Finally, Verizon suggested I file a police report. I did so and about 2 hours later received the same type of call. I received one of these calls this morning and went to the police station with the line still open so the officer could actually see what I meant. He said there was nothing he could do right now. So I called Verizon again and they suggested that I reset my phone using the 228 method. I received the same sort of call about an hour later. In the meantime, as the police officer suggested, I put my number on the federal "do not call" registry. I did that today, but I am not optimistic.
 

hang-the-9

Titan
Moderator
Restricted calls are just calls from numbers that have the number blocked, it happens to almost everyone. Just ignore them unless you get them all the time (several times a day that is).

You can also see if Verizon will assign you a new phone number.
 

Lunaluvsya

Estimable
Jun 13, 2014
2
0
4,510


Your phone has what is called a "fake call" feature. It is under settings,call, fake call. You can set it to call you from a restricted number or any name or number you want. No message plays now but you can also record a message to play when you answer. You activate the "fake call" by pushing the volume down button 4 times on the outside of your flip phone while it is closed. This almost drove me crazy and I have even read some people thought it was deceased love one calling them so I just wanted to post this for anyone who is getting these calls. You are telling your phone to call you without even knowing your doing it. Hope this helps.