When you run a call center, you might need to block unwanted or spam calls. Talk gives you the capability to block incoming calls from either a single number, or use conditions to block multiple numbers simultaneously. Additionally, you cannot make calls to blocked numbers.
This article contains the following topics:
Viewing your blocked numbers
You can view numbers and conditions from the Talk channel settings page.
To view your blocked numbers
- In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Talk and email > Talk.
- Click the Blocked numbers tab.
A list of your blocked numbers is displayed.
Blocking numbers
You can block a single number or block all numbers that match a condition you enter.
To block a single number
- On the Blocked numbers tab, click Add number.
- On the add number page, choose Equal to from the Condition drop-down list.
- In the Phone number field, enter the number you want to block.Important: The number must be in the e.164 format including +1 before the number.
- When you are finished, click Save changes.
The phone number you entered is added to the list of blocked numbers and is immediately blocked.
To block all numbers that match a condition
- On the Blocked numbers tab, click Add number.
- From the Condition drop-down list choose Starts with if you want to block all numbers that start with the pattern you enter or Ends with to block all numbers that end in the pattern you enter.
- In the Phone number field, enter the pattern you want to match. For example, you could block all numbers that start with +1206.
- When you are finished, click Save changes.
Editing blocked numbers
You can make changes to a blocked number or condition. Any changes you make will take effect immediately.
To edit a blocked number
- On the Blocked numbers tab, click the icon (
) next to the number or condition want to edit.
- From the drop-down list, choose Edit.
- Make the required changes to the condition and number, then click Save changes.
Calling blocked numbers
When you try to call a blocked number, you'll see a message indicating the number is blocked and the call won't connect.
Unblocking numbers
When you delete a number from the list it is immediately unblocked.
To unblock a number
- On the Blocked numbers tab, click the icon (
) next to the number or condition you want to unblock.
- From the drop-down list, choose Unblock.
If you deleted a single number, it is unblocked. If you deleted a condition, then all numbers that match that condition are unblocked.
11 comments
Sydney Neubauer
What does the end-user hear when they dial a number in Zendesk? I have tested on 5 numbers and experienced 4 different behaviors:
Is there a reason as to why they get different behaviors depending on the number you call? Is there a way to make it more uniform or customize a notification?
0
Oscar Mejias
Hi Sydney,
Thanks for getting in touch with the Zendesk Customer Advocacy team, and apologies for the delayed response; we've been dealing with a high volume of tickets lately.
Depending on the routing options you've set up for each one of your numbers, callers might be presented with a different experience depending on the greetings, agent availability, and other factors while they are being routed.
In general, what you can see in this article, is the order in what greetings play: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001433067-In-what-order-do-Talk-greetings-play-
Note that also depending on the agent's availability, the experience will also be different. This article also touches on how calls are routed to agents: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/229415607-How-are-calls-routed-to-my-agents-in-Zendesk-Talk-
Having said this, can you please let me know:
I'll be looking forward to your answer.
Best,
Oscar Mejias |
Customer Advocacy Lead | support@zendesk.com
1
Sydney Neubauer
@... this is for calling from a blocked number. There shouldn't be any routing or ticket examples as no tickets were created.
I am not comfortable listed the exact numbers but will list the prefixes:
0
Oscar Mejias
Hi Sydney!
Thanks for replying and apologies! For some reason, I thought I was getting in touch with you via email and not via this post.
I've now created a ticket so that we can continue looking into this issue for you.
Best,
0
Larry Click
We have spam callers calling from +1 (303) 123-6789 yet Zendesk will not allow it to be blocked as it says "Invalid phone number. The number must use the E.164 international number format."
How can we block this number?
0
Josh
Hi Larry,
Thank you for messaging us.
The error message means the number must be in the e.164 format including +1 before the number.
Example: +12055752345
Here's an article as a reference how to block numbers: Blocking unwanted callers
Best,
0
Jamey Schrick
I am the account owner and Talk Admin, but the Talk channel settings I can access do not look like the example. I see Talk Team, rather than Talk Professional. There is no Blocked numbers tab. I changed myself to just a Talk agent and that didn't help.
I don't understand how to reach the same Channel settings as described above.
0
Dave Dyson
In order to use this feature, you'll need to upgrade to Talk Professional. For information on how do that, see About Zendesk account types for billing and subscription management
If you're interested, I can have your account manager reach out as well – let me know if you'd like me to set that up.
0
Lydia Forsyth
one Zendesk Talk phone number we have has been getting several spam calls - is there any proactive way to get ahead of this in Zendesk besides registering on the Do not call registery?
0
Gabriel Manlapig
I understand that you are receiving unwanted or spam calls and you want to proactively block those callers. As of the moment, we don't have any proactive way to block these numbers / anonymous spam calls besides registering.
The problem is that there are anonymous calls which are genuine callers, and then there are anonymous calls which are fraudulent and there is no way to differentiate. And, if we go about blocking all anonymous callers, then we may potentially end up blocking any legit calls as well.
I can imagine, it would be incredibly helpful. I would recommend you to leave Feedback in our Community. Our Teams are frequently looking through the posts in order to get ideas on future additions to the Software. The more a votes a post gets, the higher the chance that the feature will be added in the future.
I hope that answers your question.
1
Joseph Keller
Pretty insane that the only offered solution for Talk Teams paying customers is to give you more money for a larger plan.
Call blocking is not a nice-to-have. How do you suggest we prevent outside numbers from calling into the Talk Teams line to render it basically unusable?
Security through obscurity? Just try to make sure nobody ever gets our Zendesk Talk number? That's unrealistic.
Does Zendesk plan to offer a solution to Talk Teams members, or is this an underhanded way to force people to upgrade?
0