# How do celebrities and prominent politicians authenticate themselves when calling someone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472 "2021-01-01T23:49:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/61 "2021-01-06T18:19:59Z")
On Spectrum, you can opt out, but you are automatically opted in. However, many land line phones have no display. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/62 "2021-01-06T19:09:05Z")
My mom is 89 and is about as technology challenged as they come. She has a landline and just lets all calls go to voicemail and if they identify themselves as someone she knows while leaving a message she will pick up. No need for caller ID. Even she knows not to rent a phone from the phone company anymore and most phones that you buy either have caller ID or are voicemail capable. If my mom was able to figure this out I’m sure 99% of the people can do so as well. This is the woman who [could not figure out how to work a new safety can opener](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electric-can-opener-shortage/928653/11). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/63 "2021-01-06T20:24:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > When Trump was calling the Georgia secretary of state, was he placing the call directly himself or was he going through the White House operators? My guess is that he called himself and that the operators know the process to deal with a skeptical person. Also, they would not have called the press office. The article indicated that Trump dialed it himself. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/64 "2021-01-06T20:45:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, many land line phones have no display. Many, in the sense of “more than a couple”. Even tech-indifferent oldsters like my mother and my in-laws have had wireless landline phones with displays on the handsets for going on two decades now. You have to go well out of your way not to have a display on your phone these days, I’m pretty sure. Like looking to find some sort of retro phone or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/65 "2021-01-12T14:50:53Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You have to go well out of your way not to have a display on your phone these days, I’m pretty sure. Like looking to find some sort of retro phone or something like that. No. I don’t have any display on my phone. It was easy to achieve. I just bought the cheapest landline phone at Walmart. This is a phone I bought a couple of years ago, not some retro phone. (I was replacing my previous phone, which had stopped working. That probably qualified as a retro phone. It was not retro when I bought it but I had been using it for almost forty years.) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/66 "2021-01-12T14:54:51Z")
So you went out of your way to purchase a phone with no features when other phones were available. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/67 "2021-01-12T15:00:31Z")
No, as I said I went to Walmart and bought the cheapest phone they had on the shelf. I don’t see any way that could be called going out of my way. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472/68 "2021-01-12T15:19:47Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > So you went out of your way to purchase a phone with no features when other phones were available. **Moderator Note** I fail to see how this has anything to do with the OP. Please refrain from personal remarks directed at other posters in GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-celebrities-and-prominent-politicians-authenticate-themselves-when-calling-someone/929472.md?page=3)