Unknown Caller vs. No Caller ID: What’s the Difference?
It seems like every day more calls pop up on our phones from numbers we don't recognize. Sometimes, instead of a number, calls will simply say "Unknown Caller" or "No Caller ID." While these sound similar, they have some slight differences. Here we’ll cover everything you need to know about Unknown and No Caller ID calls, including what they mean, when you should answer, and how to find out who’s behind the call.
Let’s get into it.
What Does “No Caller ID” Mean?
“No Caller ID” is different from an “Unknown caller,” in that No Caller ID means the caller has purposefully chosen to hide their identity and make their number private. The reasoning behind this can vary, meaning there are some completely legitimate private callers…and of course, plenty of nefarious callers as well.
When to Answer
To start, it’s worth covering who might use the “No Caller” tag for valid reasons. Those people are almost always professionals such as doctors or lawyers, who choose to withhold giving out their numbers for privacy or safety reasons. If you’re expecting a call from a doctor or lawyer and see a call from a private number coming through, it’s likely one of the few situations in which you’ll want to answer.
When Not to Answer
In pretty much any scenario where you aren’t expecting a professional call, you’ll want to let private callers go to voicemail. This is because scammers know that some people are willing to pick up the phone in the off-chance a call from a private number is expected, and thus they hide their identities to increase the likelihood of getting a potential victim to pick up.
How Scammers Block Their Caller IDs
Because scammers don’t want their numbers getting flagged as spam or potential fraud, some go about making their numbers appear as private callers in order to get people on the phone. Here’s how they do it:
- Caller ID Blocking: One of the easiest ways to hide your number on any call is by simply dialing *67 before the number you’re calling.
- Built-in Phone Features: Both iPhones and Androids have built-in features that allow you to hide your number. When enabled, calls will show up on peoples’ phones as either “No Caller ID” or “Private Number.” Note, not all carriers allow this feature, which takes us to the next point…
- Carrier Requests: Some carriers don’t allow device features to hide their number, but technical support can still allow people to set up private numbers if a request is made directly to them.
- Third-party Tools: Whereas all of the above are easy to access and fairly commonly used by all sorts of people, third-party tools are mostly used by scammers to accomplish things like hiding their numbers, spoofing their numbers to look like someone else’s, and even changing their voice.
Once again, other than specific instances, it’s best to ignore calls from private numbers. And if you do answer expecting your doctor or lawyer, hang up immediately if you realize that isn’t the person on the other end of the line.
What Does “Unknown Caller” Mean?
Whereas “No Caller ID” means the caller has purposefully hidden their number, “Unknown Caller” means your service provider doesn’t recognize who’s calling. This can be the result of a few situations such as a network outage or calls from foreign and unregistered numbers (the latter two of which are commonly used by scammers).
Should You Answer Unknown Callers?
When it comes to unknown callers, there’s really no reason to answer — as the most common reason a call will come through as unknown is typically due to it being from a scammer. In fact, you’re better off going into your phone settings and silencing unknown callers completely.
How to Trace an Unknown Call
Since Unknown calls don’t have a number you can easily trace, finding out who’s behind the call(s) isn’t always a sure shot. If you want to try, however, here’s what you’ll want to do:
- 1.Right after you receive a call from an unknown number, dial *69. This should provide you with the number of your last received call if possible.
- 2.Once you have the number, you can enter it into a reverse phone lookup tool like PeopleWin, which will search for information like names, addresses, email addresses, and social media handles associated with that phone number
What to Do About Scam Calls?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about scam calls other than identify them in order to keep you and your family safe. Silencing unknown callers and blocking numbers that keep calling is one easy way to reduce incoming scam calls, as well as reporting scam calls to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). By reporting calls or attempted scams, you could potentially help the FTC investigate and catch scammers. It won’t stop other scammers from trying to contact you, but one less scammer is a win, so it doesn’t hurt to report.
What About All Those Other Calls?
“Unknown Caller” and “No Caller ID” calls are only a portion of the calls people regularly receive (oh, not to mention “Spam Likely” calls). For the most part, calls will still come from identifiable numbers, even if you don’t know who’s behind the number. The easiest way to find out? Punch that number into PeopleWin and instantly get all of the available public data associated with that number, which can include the name of the person it’s registered to, their location, social media profiles, and more.
Cyrus Grant is a writer from Southern California with a background in law and dispute resolution. When he isn’t writing, he can be found deep-diving into the latest technology trends or simply spending time at the beach.