How TO Track or Blocked Phone Numbers

How to Track Blocked Call Phone Numbers

By Lynn Dean, eHow Contributor

 
  

Find out who's calling you.

Blocked calls can come from different sources. It could be a telemarketer, prankster or simply an individual who prefers his privacy. But it can be frustrating when you see that a caller has blocked the number, and you have no idea who is on the other line. Tracking blocked calls can help alleviate frustration and minimize fear of recurring threatening or harassing calls.

 

Instructions

1. • 1
     Dial *69. While this will not reveal the number, it will immediately call back the last person who called you. If he or she answers or you reach a personal voice mail, you may be able to determine the caller's name and reason for call.
   • 2
     Start a call log. This is especially important if the calls are numerous and harassing. Write the time and day of each blocked call you receive.
   • 3
     Contact your phone company. With new technology, it's becoming easier and more convenient to track and trace annoying phone calls. Every major phone company has a service called the Annoyance Call Bureau or Unlawful Call Bureau. They have two services for dealing with blocked calls: Call Trace and Call Trap. With Call Trap, the phone company will track down the blocked calls, and you're required to keep a call log. With Call Trace, after you receive the phone call, simply dial *57 and the call is traced back to the caller.

     You won't receive the caller's information; instead the information is turned over to your local Law Enforcement. Before you can use either tracing service, you must first call your phone company to set it up. Call Trap is for the more serious cases of call harassment, your phone company will help you decide which call tracing service is best for you.
   • 4
     File a police report. Make sure you first have all the information the police may need, including when the calls started, frequency of calls, caller's gender, time of calls and any message 

     or conversations you had with the caller.
   • 5
     Sign up for a third-party service. If you are 

     receiving threatening calls, contact your phone 

     company and local police department to protect 

     your safety. If the calls are not threatening or you’re 

     simply curious about the blocked calls, consider

      a service such as TrapCall (see Resources). TrapCall 

     offers three monthly plans, and services such as 

     number unmasking. With number unmasking, 

     when a call is blocked, it first is routed to TrapCall, 

     and then rerouted to you revealing the caller's number 

     and sometimes the first and last name.