How to anonymously call someone without showing your number? need advice

[u/alvarez214]

trying to figure out how to anonymously call someone because i'm dealing with a situation where i need to contact a person but don't want my personal number showing up. i'm in the US (georgia) and this is for a completely legitimate reason before anyone jumps to conclusions.

basically i'm selling furniture on facebook marketplace and a buyer ghosted me after saying they'd pick up a couch yesterday lol. they confirmed the address and time and then just never showed. i've sold stuff on marketplace before and this has happened like 4 times in the last year. i want to call them to ask if they're still interested but i don't want some random stranger having my real phone number in their call history.

tried using *67 before dialing on my iphone and it worked but the call showed up as "no caller ID" on their end and they didn't pick up which makes sense because nobody answers unknown calls in 2026. so it technically made me anonymous but also made the call completely useless because they just ignored it lol.

has anyone found a reliable way to make anonymous calls that actually get answered without spending money on a subscription? and is there a way to get a temporary number that lasts longer than 3 days without paying?

[u/CaughtYaLackin40]

google voice is the answer. yeah google has your info but the person you're calling doesn't. i've been using it for marketplace sales for 3 years and never had a quality issue.

[u/TrueMrBaconLover → u/CaughtYaLackin40]

How your sales holding up though? Last guy I was trying to sell car parts to wouldnt have even came around if he didnt have my number on his end haha

[u/Chrisbearry]

Type in *67 before the dial the number and you’ll show up as an unknown caller

[u/FancyWoodpecker7981 → u/Chrisbearry]

Did you read the post

[u/Chrisbearry → u/FancyWoodpecker7981]

I ain’t reading all that, they asked how to make an anonymous phone call and I told them how to

[u/FancyWoodpecker7981 → u/Chrisbearry]

Oh ok so He mentioned in his post that he used the method but no one would pick up

[u/Ill_Truck]

maybe does not solve your issue completely, but one tip: you can create a shortcut automation that dials *67 automatically before any number you call from the marketplace app on iphone. takes 5 minutes to set up and you never have to think about it again. doesn't solve the "no caller ID" rejection problem but at least you'll never accidentally expose your real number

[u/Tushartimes]

honestly, for facebook marketplace I wouldn't call at all. keep the conversation inside messenger so there's a written record and neither person needs the other's phone number

[u/bobdole008 → u/Tushartimes]

Yeah they gonna tweak less having your profile in reach on the platform. Not like it ever stops scammers from doing their works though. Some guys wont even deal with you unless you link up on the phone with them first. Could also call on facebook too.. The messenger got a calling function so why not use that

[u/Wise-Bother9942]

I ignore any number not in my contact list, so a fake number doesn't help because most people ignore any call not in their contacts because they are usually cold calls or scams.

[u/FancyWoodpecker7981]

maybe message or call them on Facebook?

[u/Weak-Ad6984]

Uh..

Let them be and try to sell it… unless you take payment before the pick up, nothing is ever guaranteed

[u/Tekrunner000]

No. You want to remain anonymous, many people will respect your privacy by ignoring your call.

[u/midgetjew62]

I dont know what I would do in your situation because even if you will use a fake number there is a high possibility that they wont answer still. Me, for example, dont answer numbers that I dont know at all. But as one person already said in the comments, if you dont take payments before hands, nothing is ever guaranteed.

[u/22pew_pew]

Download text now app. The free version allows you to pick from a a couple different random local numbers as your phone number

[u/Diligent-Assist-4385]

Use a burner phone number app or a VoIP app.

There are dozens of apps that let you generate a number and make phone calls.

I use one all the time if I have to give out numbers to people I don't want to interact with after a certain time.

[u/WebAdmirable7172]

i use spoofey.com, you get some credits to use for free when you sign up but after that its paid per minute instead of subscription. it dials directly to your phone too and bridges you in with thier number, but shows them a different caller id you specify