Many people get nuisance calls because of their phone number:-
- Recycled numbers - If you are issued a telephone number by your telephone company there is a very good chance that it has been used previously by someone else - this is called a recycled number. You may receive calls for the previous owners. Friends and family who don’t have their number will soon stop calling once they know that it is the wrong number, but telemarketing calls can continue for many years. If your number was previously used by a small business then you may get large numbers of calls over a long period of time.
- Confusingly similar numbers - Your phone number may be one digit different from the number of a local business - perhaps a taxi company - in which case you may receive calls meant for them at all times of the day and night.
- Errors in directories and web sites - Genuine mistakes may be made when phone numbers are published in directories, magazine adverts or on web sites.
One solution is to change your phone number, but of course there is no guarantee that this will give you a number that doesn’t have even more problems associated with it.
trueCall has a feature that allows you to block these calls. It answers the phone to any caller whose number is not on your friends list and announces your name - for example “Hi, you’ve got through to Suzi and James". Callers who are actually phoning for someone else will realise their mistake and ring off without disturbing you.
