Maintaining Privacy with an Unlisted Cell Phone

The telephone directory or a phone book is the most commonly available source for finding out the telephone number of an individual or a business organization. While the need for a similar listing of all cell phone numbers had been felt at times, the government has had to face severe criticism from both the cell phone owners as well as the service providers over this issue. But the privacy of an unlisted cell phone number is not obtained by simply getting a cell phone. You need to take adequate steps to ensure your privacy as your cell phone number will be revealed to the person at the other end of the call if he is in possession of a caller ID.

Several companies have also created a market for themselves by providing cell phone numbers to the interested parties by the process of reverse look ups. You do need to take concrete steps in order to protect the privacy of your unlisted cell phone number if you do not want to be accessed by telemarketers or find yourself being involved in fraudulent practices simply because your cell phone number has been accessed by an unknown individual.

Using the Do Not Call Registry

Being plagued by telemarketers soliciting potential customers over the phone has become an everyday occurrence of late. It is wise to try and avoid such calls when you are busy or expecting a particularly important call yourself. The amount of time that you tend to waste by listening to the promotional speech is enough to make you lose interest too. One of the easiest ways of avoiding such calls is to include your unlisted cell phone number in the Do Not Call Registry. You can also do it over the Internet by logging in to www.donotcall.gov.

Avoid Revealing the Phone Number

It is best to avoid revealing your personal cell number while buying a product or as a part of a market survey. Several marketing companies often have lucky draws and the participant needs to enter his/her phone number during the process. It is a good idea to refrain from doing so especially if you want to keep your unlisted cell phone absolutely private.

Blocking the Phone Number

It sometimes becomes essential to hide your own number from being displayed on the caller ID.  Whatever be the reason, you can block out your number for each call that you make. All you need to do is to add *67 before the number to be dialed. However, you might not be able to check the effectiveness of this process as you receive no messages informing you that your number has been blocked.

The system is preferred by many as it allows the number to be revealed when you dial an emergency service. Toll free numbers are exempt from this process as well and you will be able to block your number only while calling individuals or business enterprises.

Using a Pre-Paid Cell Phone

Another way of keeping your personal cell phone number absolutely private is to purchase a pre paid phone. Obtaining the phone in exchange of cash will enable you to stop your phone number from being available to individuals or marketing companies. The cash transaction for a pre paid phone will help you to keep your phone number a secret from banks and your cell phone service provider as well.

Virtual Phone Number

The most advanced way of keeping your phone number private is to go in for a virtual phone number which can be bought over the Internet. The payment is on a monthly basis and you can set your own limit of talk time by opting for a particular payment plan. The number remains completely hidden and a person calling on the number is simply redirected to your original cell phone number instead. The caller remains unaware of the existence of your real number as well.