{"id":24840,"date":"2021-04-19T13:53:34","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T21:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=24840"},"modified":"2022-09-06T15:53:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T23:53:05","slug":"who-is-calling-me-how-to-spot-voice-phishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/who-is-calling-me-how-to-spot-voice-phishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Calling Me?  How to Tell if a Number is Real"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2019 alone, an estimated 54.6 billion robocalls were made; that\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geekwire.com\/2019\/hiyas-state-phone-call-report-shows-108-jump-spam-calls-54-6-billion-2019\/\">108% jump<\/a> from the previous year.&nbsp; In the last year alone, the FTC estimates that consumers lost nearly $1.48 <em>billion <\/em>dollars to fraud.&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20191213005058\/en\/Spam-Calls-Grew-108-2019-Anti-Robocall-Bill\">Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s BusinessWire<\/a><em> <\/em>estimated that every American receives at least 14 unwanted calls from robocallers a month.&nbsp; But, this number fails to include telemarketers, an industry that\u2019s responsible for at least 30 billion calls annually.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Voice phishing &#8211; the use of fraudulent phone calls to trick victims into divulging personal financial information &#8211; has seen a recent surge. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/the-5-most-common-phone-scams-of-2019\/\">spammers and voice phishing scammers<\/a> look to increase their sheer call output at record speed, their technology and means of accessing vulnerable targets have become more advanced as well. Today more than ever there\u2019s a growing need for services such as Spokeo to help spot fake phone numbers.&nbsp;Read on to discover what you need to know to keep yourself and your personal information safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Scammers Get Away With It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before learning how to prevent fraud and voice phishing, it\u2019s important to understand the techniques that fraudsters and telemarketers employ to increase their odds of success.&nbsp; Right now, it\u2019s fairly common for robocallers to ID-spoof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fraudsters use the ID-spoofing technique to allow them to send false origin information to a phone\u2019s caller ID.&nbsp; For instance, a robocall that is ID-spoofed and using false origin information may appear like it\u2019s either from someone you know or a nearby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/phone-scam-area-codes-to-watch-out-for\/\">area code<\/a>.&nbsp; In reality, ID-spoofed numbers are coming from neither.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So&#8230;Who Is Calling Me?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, tracing a spoofed phone number is easier than you might think. There are plenty of ways to identify a fake number and thus, trace a spoofed number.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Do A Quick Social Search: <\/strong>Most businesses \u2014 including online businesses \u2014 will keep an updated social media footprint.&nbsp; Any number claiming to be from a specific business should be quickly discoverable on social media platforms like Facebook. A quick search will likely surface a real company number that you can call and verify to be real.&nbsp; Numbers found on social platforms that call into Google Voice automation (an automated voicemail service hosted by Google that\u2019s popular with scammers)&nbsp; or have automated services requesting personal information should be hung up on quickly. Don\u2019t trust companies that you can\u2019t find online or on social media.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Google It: <\/strong>A quick phone number search never hurts.&nbsp; See if you can locate a real business or person on Google by typing in the number that just called.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/reverse-phone-lookup\"><strong>Try a Reverse Phone Lookup<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>There are a few online services that allow you to quickly look up the owner of a phone number and learn more about the person behind the number. &nbsp; With unique, insightful features like Phone Reputation Score, Spokeo leads the reverse phone lookup space by leveraging over <em>12 billion phone records<\/em> to help verify that the calls you receive come from legitimate sources.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Spokeo&#8217;s Phone Reputation Score Can Help<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Spokeo\u2019s upcoming feature \u2013 Phone Reputation Score \u2013&nbsp;gives users even more actionable information when dealing with frustrating spam calls. The feature (available soon on both the <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=spokeo.com.spokeomobile\">Spokeo Mobile App<\/a> and browser-based site) helps users identify these calls upfront, saving time, and protecting users against data or security breaches from scammers by generating a score for users that assigns a simple spam risk score of Low, Medium, or High to each phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We calculate this score for each phone number using our unique data sources. These sources include information from phone data companies Spokeo has partnered with, which allow us to access information like phone status, area code location, and phone line type for nearly every number in the U.S.&nbsp; This data can be used to indicate spam calls \u2014 for example, receiving a call from a phone number registered outside the US&nbsp; is a good indicator of spam.&nbsp; We also leverage Spokeo\u2019s users and comments to generate this score. If we see a burst in unique searches happening around a particular number then it probably means this particular number has been making lots of calls in a short period of time \u2014 another good indicator of spam.&nbsp; We also take users&#8217; comments&nbsp; and opinions on whether a particular phone number is spam or fraud into account. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/reverse-phone-lookup\">Search<\/a> a number now and see how the Phone Reputation Score rates the number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Should I Do If I Pick Up?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you happen to pick up a call from a robocall or voice phishing scam, remember that (while a nuisance) they can only really do harm if you give them your information while on that call.&nbsp; In the event that you accidentally engage with an automated robocall, never share your vital personal information that only you would know such as your mother\u2019s maiden name, previous residences, social security number and date of birth.&nbsp; Voice phishing scams are looking to capture those recordings to commit fraud.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can identify a scam at the call\u2019s outset, quickly hang-up and go about your day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spokeo is the Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While robocalling and voice phishing aren\u2019t going away anytime soon, Spokeo is&nbsp; staying ahead of the curve and keeping the communications world transparent.&nbsp; With a tool like Spokeo\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/reverse-phone-lookup?g=phone_compass_\">reverse phone search<\/a> and Phone Reputation Score on your side, getting increased knowledge and protection against scammers is as accessible as ever.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To protect yourself from receiving robocalls and voice phishing attempts in the first place, you can leverage a tool like our robocall blocker (and check out our review of the top<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/best-robocall-blocker-app-for-your-iphone-and-android\/\"> robocall blocking apps<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2019 alone, an estimated 54.6 billion robocalls were made; that\u2019s a 108% jump from the previous year.&nbsp; In the last year alone, the FTC estimates that consumers lost nearly&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":24857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[612,632],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-product-updates"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Who is Calling Me? 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How to Spot Voice Phishing| Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ever pick up the phone only to wonder: \u201cwho is calling me?\u201d Avoid voice phishing and scams by tracing a spoofed phone number with Spokeo.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/who-is-calling-me-how-to-spot-voice-phishing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Spokeo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-19T21:53:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-06T23:53:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/Phone-Reputation-Score_2260_1160-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Simona Galant\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Simona Galant\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/who-is-calling-me-how-to-spot-voice-phishing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/who-is-calling-me-how-to-spot-voice-phishing\/\",\"name\":\"Who is Calling Me? 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