How To Find the Identity of An Unknown Caller

Getting spam calls can be annoying, but you might need to find out who an unknown caller was, especially if you’re waiting for an important phone call. Luckily, there are multiple ways to find the identity of an unknown caller, even if they have a blocked or private number.

Find the Identity of an Unknown Caller

Dial *69 or *57

If you want to call the unknown number back, most phone providers enable you to do so by dialing *69 on your phone’s keypad. Dialing this immediately after the unknown caller contacts you will show you the number of the last known call on your phone, even if that caller is private or has their number blocked. 

Alternatively, if you want to identify who the unknown caller is by tracing the caller in question, some phone providers offer a *57 service. Typically, this service is only used to trace threatening or harassing calls and should not be used to remove yourself from a call list. In some cases, you’ll be required to keep a written log of all the unwanted calls. 

It’s important to note that both *69 and *57 typically have fees, so check in with your phone carrier to see how much it costs. 

Contact Your Phone Carrier or Provider

If you’re not having luck using the above methods, you may be able to manually request call tracing on a number that is calling you. Look up the customer support line for your phone provider and ask them if they can call trace the unknown number to find the number of the unknown caller.

Use an App to Find the Identity of Your Unknown Caller

There are several apps online that also do call tracing to find the identity unknown caller for your cellphone. Here is a list of the most-used apps:

1. Trapcall – One of the most widely-used apps for stopping spam, Trapcall will provide you with the caller’s information when someone calls you from a blocked or private number. 
   • Download for iOS here. 
   • Download for Android here. 
2. Call Blocker – This app is a free-to-use alternative to Trapcall. It also provides other functionality like whitelisting and blacklisting specific phone numbers. 
   • Download for iOS here. 
   • Download for Android here. 
3. Hiya – Hiya takes a bit more of an aggressive approach, allowing you to send private and blocked numbers to your voicemail automatically. This free app is available for both IOS and Android devices. 
   • Download for iOS here.
   • Download for Android here.

Block The Number

Once you’ve identified the offending person, you can block their number if you don’t want to be contacted by them.

And that’s it! Even though spam calls are annoying, at least there are ways to identify the offender and block their number so they can no longer contact you.