There are many reasons why you might not want someone to see the number where you are calling from. Sometimes these reasons are personal, other times the reason is that you are telecommuting and calling for business purposes from a personal line, and you don’t want others to mistake your home line for a business line. No matter the reason, there are a lot of different ways to block a number from showing on caller ID. Some are free, and some cost money. Depending on your needs, take a look and choose the method that works best for you.
1. *67:
Dialing this before calling a number on a land line will block the number, or say “number unavailable.” This is great for one-time or occasional use, but unless you subscribe to this and the other functions in your phone line package, there may be a per-use fee of a few cents. Speak with your phone carrier to discover if this is covered for you or not. To use, simply dial this when you hear a dial tone, and wait until a second dial tone appears. Then dial the number.
2. Call ID Blocking:
Some phone companies offer a call ID blocking plan to allow you to run a caller-based business from home. Often, this will come with an option to manually turn it on and off. People who run call and help center remote businesses through their homes find this kind of system a great way to work remotely and still avoid having to pay for two designated land lines in their home. Many cell phones have features like this as well, if you don’t have a hard line to your home. The exact system depends on the carrier that you have. Contact your carrier for prices and availability.
3. Call from information:
If you connect to a number via information, your number will not be displayed. Information has a call-blocking feature, so anyone who calls via this system will pay a nominal fee, but they will not be the one calling the place so you will not see that number. Most calls from information simply read unavailable on a caller ID screen.
4. Call from a pay-phone:
Of course, if none of these options suit you, choosing a phone that never has an identification, like a pay phone, is another way to avoid letting a caller know your ID.