If you've received calls that harass you in any way, you know that they can be embarrassing and demeaning. But if you still need to use your phone on a daily basis, you can fool unauthorized numbers and callers into thinking that your phone number has been disconnected by recording a spoof message on your voice mail. That way, you can pick up the phone when you know the person who is calling or let your phone go to voice mail when you want a caller to think your phone is no longer in service.
Step 1
Write or record a message that sounds like a message that would be played by your phone company when your phone has been disconnected. Keep it simple and use wording such as "We're sorry, the number you have called has been disconnected. Please hang up and try your call again."
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Step 2
Navigate your phone to your voice mail settings. Select the option to record a new message. If you're worried about your voice giving it away, record a basic disconnection clip from the Web using a voice recorder or have a friend read the message for you.
Step 3
Change the regular message on your voice mail to the disconnected message. Save the new message to be played when your calls go through to voice mail. You can also set the number of rings you prefer before the phone goes through to voice mail. Save any new settings.
Step 4
Call your phone from another line to ensure that you're happy with the way the greeting sounds. To anyone who is calling you, it should sound as though your phone has been disconnected to fool friends, bill collectors and anyone else you want to stop calling.
Tip
Encourage confused friends to actually leave a message by recording the disconnect message, waiting five seconds and then recording a real greeting to leave a message. If someone is harassing or calling you, he'll probably hang up when he hears the first recording, while friends who know your phone isn't disconnected will wait until the second message.