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Astound Broadband

Unwanted or Harassing Calls

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Overview 

If you feel threatened or in danger, dial 911 for immediate assistance from law enforcement

Resources

  • National Do Not Call List: add your phone number to help reduce telemarketing / robo calls
     
    • Call 1-888-382-1222 or register online
       
  • Visit the FCC website for helpful tips on how to reduce unwanted calls
     
  • Bill Collector / Agency Complaints may be reported to the FTC by writing to:

    Federal Trade Commission

    Division of Credit Practices

    Washington, D.C. 20580
     
 

Harassing Calls

  • Harassing Calls can be life threatening / terroristic, obscene, malicious or harassing and usually exceed 3 calls per day
     
  • When tracing harassing calls, you must be willing to file a police report, prosecute the caller and testify in court
     
    • Dial *57 (Call Trace) to trace the last call you received and follow the instructions stated
       
    • This flags the call as a harassing call
       
    • A charge applies for each successful trace
       
    • Not all calls are traceable; auto-dialer calls, fax calls / tones / beeps, multiple line business calls, international calls, etc. are not traceable
       
    • Customers files a police report and works with law enforcement to potentially subpoena trace records 
       
 

Unwanted or Annoyance Calls

  • Unwanted or Annoyance Calls can be fax beeps / tones, telemarketers, hang-ups, debt collectors, computer-generated (robo) or repeat calls 
     
  • Certain phone features can help protect privacy
     
    • Anonymous Call Rejection (*77):  rejects callers who block their name / number from your Caller ID display
       
    • Selective Call Rejection:  (*60) block calls from phone numbers you choose to reject  
       
    • Call Block (*60): program this feature to block unwanted incoming phone numbers
       
    • Call Return (*69): after receiving an incoming call, identify the number of the caller and date / time received
       
    • Caller ID: see the name / number of the caller before answering the phone
       
    • Non-published Phone Number: removes your number from directory assistance and from the new publication of phone books 
       
    • Change your Phone Number: helpful when you receive calls for the previous owner
       

Harassing calls are serious, unwanted calls that may be threatening or repeated many times. Customers can use *57 to trace some calls, but they must file a police report and work with law enforcement if they want to take action. For unwanted calls like telemarketers or robocalls, features such as Call Block, Caller ID, and Anonymous Call Rejection can help, and customers can also use third-party spam-blocking apps.