Back when I was with Bell South, IF I received a threatening call, all I had to do was dial *57 when the call was disconnected. The catch was that by doing so, I automatically agreed to prosecute the person making the call. By agreement, I had a specific phone number to call the next morning during business hours. I’d have to tell them the time I dialed the *57 so they could go back through their records to retrieve the info. Once they had the name & phone number, they would initiate a case against the offending party based on my complaint. Then when it went to court, I’d have to testify & prove that the person was harassing me. IF it was determined that I’d filed a false complaint, I’d be the one being prosecuted…NOT the one I filed the complaint against. It wasn’t a system so you could get somebody’s phone number!!! Once the caller ID option came into being, it’s NOT been as important as it once was.
I don’t know IF this is still used today. I think it would depend on each individual phone company. You can do a google search for “star codes” with the name of your phone company to see if it’s available.
A friend’s daughter took out a restraining order against an ex bf. He kept sending her emails begging her to come back to him. She printed out each one & took him back to court. He argued that he had not come near her. The judge said he had violated the restraining order by contacting her via email & put his butt in jail.
When I don’t want someone bugging me on my phone, I block them once they start calling so they ONLY get through ONCE…very effective!!!