FreePBX 2.11 Guide: Blacklist a caller

If you get annoying telemarketing calls then it’s really simple to block the caller ID with FreePBX. First you need to ensure the caller ID module is installed, see here for more info – http://sysadminman.net/blog/2014/freepbx-2-11-guide-updating-and-installing-modules-5922

Blocking a caller via the Web GUI

First we need to go to the Blacklist menu option

Blacklist caller

Now we can block a caller based on their ID, or block all anonymous callers

Blacklist caller

Three things to note –

• This is one of the few places in FreePBX you may not see the red “Apply Changes” button after making a change. This is normally not required when making a change here, so don’t worry.
• Blacklisting all unknown/blocked calls is system wide and could have unexpected results!
• If this doesn’t work as expected you should check the call reports to ensure the format you are entering the caller ID here matches the format the caller ID is being presented to your system

Blocking a caller via the phone

Probably a much more useful option is to block a caller after you receive a call from them on your extension. To do this, after hanging up on the caller, dial *32 and you should hear a messaging directing you to press 1 to block the last caller. The callers ID should be read to you.

Note –

• If this doesn’t work for you then check under Admin / Feature Codes and ensure the *32 feature code is enabled