How To Recognize Call When You Don’t Know Phone Number
Ever found yourself staring at a text message from an unknown number? You’re not alone. I often receive messages from numbers I don’t recognize. Rather than awkwardly replying with, “Um, who is this?”, there’s a nifty trick you can use repeatedly.
When you receive a text from an unfamiliar number, mobile payment apps like Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, or PayPal can help you identify the sender.
Copy and paste the number into the app and the mystery sender’s name might just be unveiled.
I tried this on a friend’s phone number who I knew had a Venmo account, and sure enough, their name showed up immediately.
Just a heads up, this trick only works if you both have accounts with the same mobile payment app. Plus, the person you’re checking needs to have used their real name and number in their account. Still, it’s a lot more reliable than guessing.
On the flip side, if you want to keep your own information private, make sure to disable the feature that shares your name and phone number. The steps to do this vary by app. For Venmo, go to Settings, select Friends and Social, and toggle off Phone contacts.
What about blocked numbers?
Dialing *67 hides your number when making a call, ensuring the recipient cannot see your caller ID. If you need to identify an unknown caller, there are other useful codes to try.
One handy code is *69, which allows you to trace the last incoming call, even if the number was hidden. This feature provides the phone number and the exact time of the call, enabling you to block the number if necessary.
For more tips and codes to uncover mystery callers, click here.
My favorite way to deal with spam calls? Answering with, “Maricopa County morgue, you kill ’em, we chill ’em.” I know, it’s a bit morbid, but it usually gets the point across.