What Is a Ghost Phone?

In today's high-tech society, caller ID is a given for almost any phone, taking away the mystery of who is calling when the phone rings. The slang term "ghost phone" applies to those times when this is not the case.

No Number

• When a call is received by a phone with caller ID and no number is displayed, it is referred to as getting a call from a "ghost phone." The number is not displayed because it comes from a blocked or private number.

Fake Vibrating

• Sometimes a person with a cell phone on vibrate will feel the sensation of their phone vibrating, without a call actually coming through. This can also be called a "ghost phone."

No One Picks Up

• A phone number that is never answered is said to belong to a "ghost phone." ghost's footprint image by Hao Wang from Fotolia.com

  People who intentionally distribute wrong telephone numbers are said to be giving numbers out for a "ghost phone" that no one will ever answer.