Calling anonymously

[Meditrina]

How can I call someone and have my number not appear on their caller ID? and does it definitely work? No chance of my number appearing?

[Meditrina]

Never mind. I had someone else make the call.

[Jetée]

Quick solution. Great.

Here are some more:

To start, we want to let you know that *67 is not anonymous. Although it can protect your phone number to an extent, phone records held with the telephone company can disclose your phone number within minutes if subpoenaed. If you call a toll free phone number, *67 will not protect your number as it relies on ANI (Actual Number Identification)

To see your Actual Number Identification, just dial this number for free which is MCI Residential, 1-800-444-4444 and the prompt will automatically tell you what number you are calling from. Now try *67 before that, and you will see that *67 did not do you any good!

Fortunately, we have some methods that are anonymous and can protect you.

Prepaid Phone
A prepaid cell phone that is not attached with your name is great for privacy. You can buy prepaid cell phones at gas stations, Walmart, Walgreens, K-mart, or any other store. The way it works is you usually purchase a phone for as cheap as $15 and then you buy a minute card. As always, we recommend paying cash for the phone. You can usually by minutes for the prepaid phone service at the store as well. In addition, you can use a prepaid credit card and use it to buy minutes online for the phone. With our experience, we recommend using Tracfone for your prepaid needs. To activate your phone just takes minutes and you can call their customer service phone number or activate online at their website. For superior protection, you could even pick an area code in a different state!

Pay Phone / Public Phone
By using a pay phone or another public phone, you will leave no trace that you are the one who called the person or business. Pay phones are found everywhere including gas stations, local grocery stores, and even in parking lots. A lot of times there are no cameras watching the phone so you will leave no trace behind. Rates typically just start at $.25 cents but can go high as a few dollars for long distance calls.


Op Diverting
One of the oldest tricks in the book, is op-diverting. This involves calling an operator by dialing 0, explaining that you are having difficulty dialing a number or that you are blind, and then having them call the number for you. You can try using an automatic operator by dialing 10-10-288-0 (or just enter 00 if AT&T or Cingular is your phone carrier)

[thingstodo]

*67 will block your number from anyone looking at their caller ID. They would need to go through a great deal to actually find your number - unless, of course, you are actually calling a phone company. I wouldn't worry unless what you are doinig is illegal as the only way someone could obtain your number is through a court order.

By the way, although the article states that pay phones are everywhere a quick look around will show they aren't anymore. In fact, they are quite difficult to find in many areas and now cost much more than a quarter to use! You can thank the proliferation of cell phone for that.

[MSD]

ANI is Automatic Number Identification, not Actual Number Identification.

[FuglyStick]

Let me consult the "Stalker's Handbook"...

[SSJTWIZTA]

as thingstodo stated, good ole' *67

[yournamehere]

Ask someone over 35 - they'll explain it.

[Rekna]

out of curiosity what is it you are doing where you need to be so anonymous?

[hunnychile]

...and finding one of these antiques is harder yet!

[Meditrina]

Originally Posted by Rekna

out of curiosity what is it you are doing where you need to be so anonymous?

It was not anything illegal, just a little bit personal.