Handle Incoming Calls Based on Caller ID

You can give an individual extension its own set of rules that decide what happens to a call based on who is calling. Each rule matches an incoming Caller ID (from a colleague or an external contact) and applies an action such as sending the call to voicemail, playing a greeting, or hanging up. This is a practical way to silence spam numbers while still letting trusted callers through.

Add a call handling rule

1. In the management portal, go to Extension and Trunk > Extension and open the extension you want to configure for editing.

2. Select the Features tab.

3. Find the Call Handling Based on Caller ID section and build one or more rules:

   a. Click Add.

   b. In the Caller ID field, type the number or number pattern the rule should match.

   • For a single caller, enter the exact number. For example, 10086 matches only calls that arrive with the Caller ID 10086.
   • For a group of callers, enter a wildcard pattern. For example, 9011. matches any Caller ID that begins with 9011. See Caller ID Pattern for the full syntax.

   c. From the Action drop-down list, choose what the system does with a matching call:

   • Hang Up: end the call immediately, without ringing the extension.
   • Extension: route the call to an extension.
   • Voicemail: send the caller straight to voicemail.
   • IVR: hand the caller to an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu, the automated attendant that plays options such as “press 1 for sales”.
   • Play Greeting then Hang up: play a recorded message to the caller, then end the call.
   • Accept Call: let the call through, even when a broader rule would otherwise block it.

   d. Click Save.

   e. Optional: To create additional rules, repeat steps a through d.

   f. Optional: Use the Move column to reorder the rules. They are evaluated from the top down.

4. Click Save, then Apply.

Note

Every incoming call is allowed to reach the extension by default. Accept Call is useful when a broad blocking rule would otherwise catch a number you trust. For instance, if one rule rejects spam calls from 728373XX, you can add a separate rule that accepts calls from 72837300.

Tip

Because rules run top to bottom, order matters. Place the “Accept calls from 72837300” rule above the “Reject calls from numbers starting with 728373” rule. Calls from 72837300 then ring the extension, while every other number that starts with 728373 is hung up.

Result

From now on, the system inspects the Caller ID of each incoming call and handles it according to the rules you defined for the extension.