Can you block unknown callers from leaving a voicemail?

[Dogchaser45]

My child has been having an issue over the last six months or so where they have been receiving harassing calls from a blocked or unknown number. We've gone through the process on their phone that will block private or unknown numbers from ringing through but they can still leave a voicemail. We're really trying to avoid having to change the number on their phone. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Cawtau]

Hello Dogchaser45,

  Welcome to the community!

  Sorry to hear your child is receiving harassing calls. As you note, blocking calls from a device does not prevent the calls from being sent to voicemail. The only way it could possibly be done would be at the network level. Unfortunately, I don't think Fido or any Canadian provider has a service to prevent callers from leaving voicemail.

  There are apps which claim to be able to prevent callers from leaving voicemail (see here). There may be other such apps as well. They work by answering the calls and almost simultaneously dismissing the calls thereby preventing the calls from getting sent to voicemail. It should be noted that those calls are technically considered answered so they would count against any limited calling allotments (and roaming if abroad). I have not used any of those apps so I cannot verify how well they might work.

  Have you considered informing local law enforcement about the calls? They tend to take harassment seriously and might be able to identify the caller(s) even though the call(s) appear from blocked or unknown numbers. The voicemails left could also help to identify the caller(s).

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers