Help Verizon HTC 10 Call log What does "answered remotely" in green coloring mean?

[kevin christopherson]

What does Answered Remotely mean?

In my call history, it usually shows the phone number that called you or or the one that you called. But this one persons info in my call logs shows in green color "answered remotely" instead of a phone number. She has a horrible history of not being a nice person. i.e. tracking, snooping, spy ware that kind of stuff.
So of course, I became suspicious instantly when I see this only with her number, and it doesn't happen every time we talk. Also, it does not matter if I call her or she has called me.
I have contacted HTC and Verizon support, but they couldn't help only saying it sounds suspicious. They advised me to make sure my antivirus and malware apps are running and up to date.

Please help. If you don't know the answer, where do you think I should go to find one.

Here is a screen shot of my call logs.

 

[ExLegionAir]

I believe it means that she answered from another device like a PC if her phone and PC are linked then when someone calls her she can pick up the call on her PC

 

[Rob]

While it's possible that something fishy is going on, I doubt it.

The most likely scenario is that Debbie is using call forwarding to automatically send calls from her phone to another device. For instance, perhaps when she is at work, she can't easily get calls on her cellphone. She could all calls that hit her personal phone number to be automatically sent to her desk phone at work or to her work computer so she can receive them without problem. In this case, I assume the call would show as "answered remotely."

The reverse could also be true if Debbie is using VoIP. This would mean the number you're calling is her work number but she has set that work number to be automatically forwarded to her cellphone using a service like Troinet:
https://troi.net/three-ways-voip-could-transform-your-business/

Or T-Mobile's WiFi calling could also cause this (does Debbie have T-Mobile?):
https://www.t-mobile.com/offer/wifi-calling-wifi-extenders.html

I'm not sure what 3rd party devices would cause this "answered remotely" indicator, but this is likely how Google Home and Amazon Echo will work once they are able to make and receive calls. The phone isn't answering the call so it's reporting another device answered the call, but since that device doesn't have a phone number... yeah, I know, it's confusing and probably should report more accurately.

I suppose it's possible that she is doing something for nefarious purposes, such as forwarding calls to software that records your call, or telling you she is one place but answering remotely from another place so you don't get suspicious. It's impossible to answer that without knowing further details and I doubt you'll find the answer yourself unless you ask Debbie directly. Just be careful not to accuse someone of something you're not sure they did... that doesn't usually end well.

Best of luck in finding out the reasoning and I sincerely hope it's just a simple/stupid explanation that puts Debbie back in your good graces. I'd give her a call and ask her directly- just be honest and tell her you're wondering why it says what it does!

 

[Rob]

Also take a look at the "Shared Lines" portion here which directly mention this "Answered Remotely" message:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/doc...K_U841D454_00_userguide-8831_chapter_0101.pdf

This is for a work conference phone so still fits my explanation above.