# Ghost call

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_call
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{{Short description|Type of telephone call}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}

A '''ghost call''' or '''phantom call''' is a [telephone call](/source/telephone_call) for which, the recipient of the call answers, however there is no one on the other end of the call. The term is also used in managing [IP PBX](/source/IP_PBX) systems. Ghost calls on the lines that cannot be explained or are some residual output of one [Real-time Transport Protocol](/source/Real-time_Transport_Protocol) or RTP stream interacting with the PBX.  Ghost calls differ from [silent calls](/source/silent_calls) which tend to be from telemarking organisations with no agents available to speak at the time an automated call has been placed.

== Causes ==
Ghost calls are generally caused by a neglected [autodialer](/source/autodialer) or indirectly as a consequence of restrictions applied to autodialers used for [telemarketing](/source/telemarketing) by agencies such as the [FCC](/source/FCC) that restrict how long they can tie up a phone line; the call is disconnected automatically at the calling end. Another cause is [port scanning](/source/port_scanner).<ref>Zenica Joy, [https://www.voipreview.org/blog/how-to-stop-ghost-calls "How To Stop Ghost Calls"], blog, VOIP Review, March 29, 2019.</ref><ref>Tyler Kunkel, [https://support.spectrumvoip.com/hc/en-us/articles/360024860853-Identifying-Stopping-Phantom-or-Ghost-calls "Identifying/Stopping 'Phantom' or 'Ghost' calls"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725041342/https://support.spectrumvoip.com/hc/en-us/articles/360024860853-Identifying-Stopping-Phantom-or-Ghost-calls |date=2020-07-25 }}, Spectrum VoIP, August 15, 2019.</ref> Ghost calls can also be caused by accidental [pocket dialing](/source/pocket_dialing).

== Consequences ==
A ghost call sometimes can be repetitive or completely tie up a phone line, making it impossible to call 911 in case of emergency. In some cases an auto-dialer may be overlooked or even abandoned. This tends to happen very rarely.

===Stopping the calls===
Several websites collect reports of ghost calls.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} Repeated reports of the same number provide insight into where the machine is located and hopefully aid in having it shut down.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Telephony

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ghost call](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_call) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_call?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.