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Comment by atm3ga | Hacker News Reader

I've set my phone to not answer unknown callers (those not in my address list) and more importantly, I've done this for my parents as well and further instruct them as often as possible to not believe anything they get in email. With all of this, my mom still will reach out at least once or twice a year in a panic about some scam email she thinks is real.

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Well easy to say, but if you are working in the real world, then unknown callers may be important - i.e. FedEx trying to push your package through the customs and if they can not contact you, your package goes either back or is destroyed.

Legitimate callers for events you initiated leave messages. The correct avenue for critical notifications not initiated by you is still paper mail.

But your child's school nurse might not, in an emergency.

Your child's school nurse would be exactly the type of person who would leave a message

Not necessarily. Ours would work down the list of numbers she had for me, my wife, and other emergency contacts without leaving a message. My wife got pulled out of a meeting at work once despite me being the parent at home because I missed a call from the school and they didn't bother to leave a message.

They might not.. But you'd very likely have their number saved on your phone. Might even have them as an un-mutable contact. My wife/kids and their school are all on the "never mute" list.

> But you'd very likely have their number saved on your phone.

I certainly don't. Every call I get from the school seems to come from a different number. And the camp she was at when she hurt her leg and had to be taken for immediate medical attention.

I get it, in your world, in your experience, it all works out. But in mine, it just doesn't. From experience, I _know_ this is true.

If you have an iPhone, the latest iOS 26 will answer unknown numbers not in your address book for you and ask what they want and then alert you to see if you want to take the call.

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