a method and apparatus for identifying a caller who does not provide caller identification on an unanswered call . the caller is asked to record his / her name . if the call is unanswered , the record is retained and can be accessed by the called party when that party requests his / her stored voice mail . advantageously , even on unanswered calls , the identity of the caller can be presented to the called party when that called party requests stored voice mail messages , even if the calling party has private service .