To avoid answering unknown numbers? Ring ring

[GiddyJadeHare]

Your phone’s ringing. You take it out of your pocket, and suddenly… you see it’s from a number you don’t know! 😱

Are you answering it, or letting it ring?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and any funny stories about those mysterious calls!

I recently had a death in the family and had to ring a lot of relatives to let them know, tell them about the funeral etc. Loads of them didn’t answer when they saw an unknown number (mine), as usually my parents would call them. It added a level of work and distress that I really didn’t need.

My problem is everyone uses mobile phones and I can’t recognise them. On landlines the dialling code gives you a hint!
Did make a fool of myself when I accused my sons consultant of being a scammer, he did laugh! Phew

What a bizarre response. Who’s suggested your ‘practical’ assistance is needed, or that only ‘worriers’ answer calls from unknown numbers? If I get a call from A and E saying my mother has had a massive heart attack and I should come quickly because she’s not expected to be alive much longer, it’s pretty time-sensitive, so it’s information I would like to have asap. And the downside of occasionally getting automated calls claiming I have parcels waiting for me to pay duty or m owed a tax refund isn’t really that much of a downside, unless two seconds of automated voice causes you some kind of disproportionate distress.

This place is insane isn’t it.

They think it makes them better and less of a servant of modern society and ‘the man’, but it’s nonsense really.

‘I’m sticking it to the man by, wait for it,not answering my phone!’

For various reasons, I have so many calls from NHS numbers that I don't know that I answer everything.

I never answer an unknown number. I Google the number and more often than not its a known scam and I then block it. Occasionally, it's someone I haven't saved to contacts so I call them back and add them. Or not.

If my phone rings i answer it never know who it could be.
If its someone i dont want to talk to i hang up simple.

I wonder if all the non answerers will ever need someone to urgently pick up the phone to them one day?

Laying alone, fallen and hurt, ring someone to help and the person they call, thinks fuck it, rude bastards never pick up when I call them! And there you lay, forgotten.

Bit extreme but you never know

If it was someone I knew that had my number the call would come through with their name on, anyone else, the call goes straight to answerphone but they wouldn't be ringing me anyway to rescue them

As a hospital Dr that has no choice but to ring on withheld as I'm not giving pts my phone number, and often ring ad hoc, people ignoring withheld drive me nuts. I've spent hours of my last 2d off trying to speak to a patient that won't pick up

Well, if there wasn't so many scammers here wouldn't be a problem, texts are also becoming a problem because of the number of scams, in fact the phone has just become a tool to fraudulently get money out of people

they were not allowed to leave messages due to confidentiality,

I'm not giving pts my phone number

that sounds awfully like victims of abuse and stalking have to give up their safety for someone else’s confidentiality or privacy/security

so mrs M you’ve been raped and beaten multiple times by your exh who wants to further harass you including threats to kill?

You better still pick up the phone to every unknown number regardless of if it’s him though just in case it’s ME you selfish deluded bitch

(and definitely don’t ask me to leave a message or supply a number for you - even though it’s a place of work and not my own personal phone number I can’t be expected to answer to you)

go ahead love, victims of abuse are already expected to shoulder the shame and ongoing restrictions rather than, oh say, the perpetrators

condescending attitudes from drs or whoever just makes sure we know whose side youse are on

I no longer answer anything from a number I don't recognise after having quite a few of these automated scam calls.

I always think that a genuine caller will leave a voicemail or send me a text instead if they are trying to get hold of me.

I let unknowns go to answerphone/voicemail. 😉

Bogus phone calls have become savvy by making the number on caller display a local number.

My phone’s on DND when I’m working anyway, apart from family numbers. It’s totally normal for me to see three or four missed calls from an area miles away where I don’t know anyone, and no messages left.

If I am not doing anything, I often do, but wait for them to say hello first (or hang up). Then block future calls if I am satisfied it is just spam.

If I am busy (even if it is only cleaning the house) I don't answer.

I guess if you don't care about seeing a dying child/parent/other important person in your life before it's too late then that's a sensible approach. I wonder how prevalent it is

Do you have children? If so do you really not care that they might need you in an emergency. Not saying you're wrong but I don't think I've ever had a friend who came across as so uncaring

Drives me mad! I triage as part of my job and when someone has called a triage line, surely they will be expecting me to call, so why don’t they answer! I give them three tries and then mark them as failed contact.

When my doctors ring on my mobile - it comes up with Docs - how I list it on contacts. Doesn’t matter if it’s a doctor or a receptionist.

Google the number expecting to see it's a scammer, see that it comes up as Amazon delivery driver, try and switch back to answer in time, fail, run off down the street in my dressing gown

If it was our local GP's landlines then it would. Hospital numbers are usually withheld.