# I called a 268 number back and got a busy signal--am I gonna pay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 7, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742 "2014-02-07T08:14:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/21 "2014-02-10T17:46:15Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I HATE that. > When I got that call, I started to call it back but I had a few minutes so I googled it and found out it was a scam. Someone was advising their message board about it and a ton of people piled on the OP for even suggesting that anyone would ever answer a number they don’t know or, heaven forbid, call it back. > > I always answer my phone and will even call back unknown numbers. Until this latest scam, what’s going to happen. I effin hate it when friends/family sit there and stare (literally) at there phone saying “this number has called me three times this week”…“SO ANSWER IT!!!” It’s always funny when I end up answering it just to find out it’s, say, Volkswagen trying to find out how their last oil change was or Time Warner Cable calling to see how their experience was when they stopped in to drop of their cable box. > People, you’re not going to get kidnapped over the phone… I am NOT judging people for answering unidentified numbers, or calling back. I am just curious as to why someone would. Is it an age thing? A ‘friendliness’ thing? To me, it is mind boggling that anyone would, but I also realize people aren’t all like me, so I was just curious. I would say something like 90% of the calls that I get from numbers I do not recognize are telemarketers, political cold calls, surveys, or other ‘junk mail’ calls. I agree, they can’t hurt me over the phone, but why would I want to waste my time? An unanswered phone can’t hurt you, either. Why do some people get upset if it isn’t answered? The remaining unidentified calls are, as noted above, friends calling from different numbers, or recent acquaintances that I don’t know their number yet (and must have cell phones that don’t display the name). But they leave messages. The really confounding calls are the ones from business I actually DO use that have their caller ID blocked! Why are they doing that? They are legitimate. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/22 "2014-02-10T18:49:31Z")
businesses don’t want you mad at them when they didn’t even get to make a sales pitch. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/23 "2014-02-10T18:57:57Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I am NOT judging people for answering unidentified numbers, or calling back. I am just curious as to why someone would. Is it an age thing? A ‘friendliness’ thing? > > To me, it is mind boggling that anyone would, but I also realize people aren’t all like me, so I was just curious. > > I would say something like 90% of the calls that I get from numbers I do not recognize are telemarketers, political cold calls, surveys, or other ‘junk mail’ calls. I agree, they can’t hurt me over the phone, but why would I want to waste my time? An unanswered phone can’t hurt you, either. Why do some people get upset if it isn’t answered? > > The remaining unidentified calls are, as noted above, friends calling from different numbers, or recent acquaintances that I don’t know their number yet (and must have cell phones that don’t display the name). But they leave messages. > > The really confounding calls are the ones from business I actually DO use that have their caller ID blocked! Why are they doing that? They are legitimate. Yeah, I’m the same way. I don’t even answer calls from an unknown area code 95% of the time, blocked calls never get answered, and it irritates me for some reason when I get called back after misdialing a number. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/24 "2014-02-11T00:08:33Z")
If I get a call from any number I don’t recognize, I’ll always Google it, or do a reverse search on [www.whitepages.com](http://www.whitepages.com), to find out if it came from someone I ought to know or a telemarketer. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/25 "2014-02-11T06:44:30Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Whoever it was obviously has your number already, so it’s not like you’re giving away anything by trying to call them back. 😕 Did you not read the OP? The scam is that the unsuspecting person calls back the number and is then charged huge phone fees. So yeah, you are giving something away if you call them back. > [@Cartoonacy](#): > > If I get a call from any number I don’t recognize, I’ll always Google it, or do a reverse search on [www.whitepages.com](http://www.whitepages.com), to find out if it came from someone I ought to know or a telemarketer. Same here. If I don’t recognize the number (or rather I should say, if a listed contact doesn’t come up, because really who memorizes everyone’s phone numbers these days? People give you their number, you type it into your phone, and never see it again.), and it’s not a local area code, I don’t answer. If they don’t leave a message, I don’t call back. Rarely has an unanswered number left a message (what few legit calls there were \*did \*leave messages) and in almost every single case of Googling an unknown number, it’s been a telemarker/scam number. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/26 "2014-02-11T07:33:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It’s always funny when I end up answering it just to find out it’s, say, Volkswagen trying to find out how their last oil change was or Time Warner Cable calling to see how their experience was when they stopped in to drop of their cable box. Why is that funny? They didn’t answer it, presumably because they thought it would be a pointless nuisance call…and you answered it to find that it was, in fact, a pointless nuisance call. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742/27 "2014-02-11T19:33:14Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Can I ask a serious question-no snark or putdown intended. Why would you or anyone call back a number you don’t know that didn’t leave a message? Could have been a wrong number, or a telemarketer, so why call? I’ve noticed the same thing, it’s another one of those “same planet, different worlds” differences in human behavior. Personally, if they don’t leave a message I will assume it’s a wrong number and think nothing else of it. After reading about the call scams I looked back in my cell phone missed call history and there was a number from one of those area codes. Glad I didn’t call it back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-called-a-268-number-back-and-got-a-busy-signal-am-i-gonna-pay/680742.md?page=1)