If you’re a regular reader of the Finish Line Blog, you know of my well chronicled disdain for the band The Who. If you don’t share in my disgust, that’s fine It’s your right to enjoy whatever type of music you like. This is America after all. Having said that, their songs do get in your head, and many of them seem to make for good blog titles. Who knew? Anyway, how many times a day do you get a phone call on your cell phone from a number you don’t recognize? Just today I’ve gotten three from out of the area. 99% of the time, if I get a call from outside of our local area, and 100% of the time that I receive a call from a toll free number, I hit decline and let the call go to my voicemail to see if they leave a message. Most of the time they don’t. Today, I’ll share my system with you that helps cut down on my unwanted phone calls…and lowers my blood pressure at the same time!
The first thing I’ll do if I don’t recognize a number is type that number into a search engine. Whether you use Google, Bing, Yahoo, or some other search provider makes no difference. Typically, one of the top results to show up on the list will be from the website, 800Notes.com. 800Notes.com is a site that allows people to share their experiences when getting calls from a specific phone number. If the number you’ve searched for comes up on 800Notes, you can bet it’s from a spam or unwanted caller. Chances are that number will call you again, so at least you’ve identified that it isn’t a number worth answering.
So, is there a more permanent way to block these unwanted callers? Yes and no. Have you added your number to the National Do Not Call Registry? If not, click here. Most spammers don’t typically honor these lists, but it’s a good idea to register anyway. What I do on my own phone is create a contact called “IGNORE”. Every time I receive a call from a number I don’t want, I add that number to the IGNORE contact. After doing that, you can block that contact so you won’t see that number again. Here are the steps if you’re an iPhone user: create a new contact by tapping “Phone” then “Contacts” at the bottom of the screen. You’ll see a list of all your contacts. Tap the “+” on the top right of the screen, then type the name IGNORE (or something similar) in the “Last Name” or “Company” field. When you’re done typing, tap “Done” in the top right. If you know you’ve gotten an unwanted call in the past, tap “Recents” to see your call history. Scroll through the list until you see that number, then tap the “i” listed to the right of the time that the call came in. Tap “Add to Existing Contact”. Scroll through your contact list and tap “IGNORE”, then tap “Update” in the top right, and the number will be added to your IGNORE contact. There’s one more step before you’re finished. Return to the IGNORE contact (tap “Contacts” then tap “IGNORE”. Look for “Block this Caller”. Tap that, then tap “Block Contact”. That number, and any future number in the “IGNORE” contact should not be able to call, text, or FaceTime you ever again.
Life is too short to waste your time on automated messages. Chances are the FBI isn’t suing you, and, unfortunately, you probably didn’t win a free cruise. Caller ID was a wonderful invention. Use it to your advantage!