There is a person who keeps calling me on a restricted phone number and i want to give them a piece of their own medicine!
How do you call the number back, or at least know the number.
When a number shows up as private or restricted, and no numbers show up, you cannot trace it. It’s done for good reason. Suppose you blocked your number when you called someone, would you want the phone company to just hand over your information? We can’t.
If a number shows up that doesn’t make sense, such as 000-000-0000 or 123-456-7890 it means it is a VoiP call, and the person is using a computer to call you with means, such as Skype. You can’t call these numbers back. They are not phone numbers.
If a number shows up and it looks like a proper number with area code and number an you get a recording saying your call can’t go through, it means it’s either a payphone, a calling card routing number, an institution that doesn’t allow calls to come in (i.e. prisons, hospitals, offices, hotels, etc). Inbound lines only are numbers that can reach you, but you cannot dial back because the restriction on the line is set up so they don’t receive calls. Telemarketers are famous for having lines like these.
Routing numbers are numbers that are commonly used by collect calls and calling cards, where the call goes through a toll free number and then to a switcher to be placed to you. The number of the switcher, which is restricted, comes to your own phone and your call display will show you a number that it has been reached from before it got to you. Again, you can’t call it back.
If criminal activity has happened on the line, you can dial *57 to trace the call, however this information goes to the police. The police can investigate where the call came from, but again, if it’s something like a payphone, then it’s a matter of who used the phone, and if cameras are operated to show people using the phone at specific times. *57 information is not just handed to you. What you are doing is no different than calling the police. If the police need to contact you over the matter, they will.
Otherwise, you can have call blocking features on your line, and perhaps specific numbers, but this is often for a fee. If your situation is harassing calls, you can report it to your phone company and due to the nature of your problem, may have the fee waived to change your number.
To keep it simple, can you just get a restricted number? No. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s what is possible and not possible, and you do not get this information unless you are the police.