How many of you first came to Spokeo because you wanted to look up an unknown phone number? Exactly.\u00a0 This article reviews a few ways you can track down an unidentified phone number, and if necessary use the Spokeo app<\/a> or a competitor product to screen and block those calls.\u00a0 It also touches briefly on using the phone number to track the physical phone and its owner, in specific circumstances.\u00a0 It\u2019s had a slow burn, not making the list at all in 2021<\/a> when it was published, then rising to #9 in the 2022 list<\/a> before hitting the top spot in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rise in online shopping meant a corresponding rise in deliveries, and \u2013 sadly \u2013 a rise in delivery-related scams as well. One of the most common involves a phishing text or email, claiming a failed delivery and asking you to click the supplied link to reschedule. If you do, of course, you\u2019re hooked. In another scam, fraudulent merchants cough up a tracking number for their shipment, but either it\u2019s completely bogus or stolen from a different, legitimate purchase. In the article, we explain how to spot these scams. Clearly it\u2019s a sore point, because this piece got a lot<\/em> of traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s almost surprising to see this article dip down as far as third place. It was our top article in 2022 and 2021, and an earlier version of the same piece held down the top spot in our initial year-end roundup back in 2020. What can we infer from this? Well, perhaps after the tumultuous pandemic years we\u2019re finally feeling a bit more settled in our relationships. Or maybe it\u2019s just that nuisance calls and delivery scams were really, really annoying in 2023. It\u2019ll be interesting to see whether the trend continues, or whether this article remains at or near the top in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This article makes its first appearance in our Top 10 since it was published in 2021. That makes sense, because in many ways it\u2019s the cell phone complement to our #1 article. With so much of what we do online linked to our cell phone numbers, a quick cell number search can tell you a lot about a person. On the other hand, for those of us concerned about privacy, it\u2019s a good reminder of just how much of our own identity is connected to our phones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yup, there\u2019s definitely a recognizable theme emerging; in 2023 we really<\/em> wanted to know who\u2019s calling. With the computerization of telephone systems, it became possible for callers to make a false (\u201cspoofed\u201d) number show up on your Caller ID. There are perfectly legitimate uses for this, but it also opened the door to some very convincing scams. Tracing a spoofed number is difficult, but by no means impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of two articles from the summer of 2018 to make this year\u2019s Top 10 list, and it\u2019s consistent with what we\u2019ve seen so far.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about recognizing phone scams when you hear them (or when they arrive in your texts), either through a reverse phone lookup<\/a> or just by their content and style.\u00a0 That kind of information is always useful.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scam calls come in a lot of different forms, and may or may not come from a spoofed number. Accordingly, this blog contains a lot of closely related articles, addressing those issues from different perspectives. Like several of the others on this year\u2019s list, #7 addresses the ongoing challenge of sorting out legitimate calls from the bogus ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The big recurring theme in 2023\u2019s list has been searching for a phone number to find out who\u2019s behind it.\u00a0 But what if you have the opposite problem, of knowing someone\u2019s name but not having their cell phone number? Well, you can do that too by using Spokeo\u2019s Name Search<\/a> and other tools.\u00a0 Aside from reconnecting with friends and family, it\u2019s a useful tool for vetting your dating app matches and others you\u2019ll potentially connect with.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n All phone calls, even the scammy ones, have to originate somewhere<\/em>.\u00a0 That somewhere will have an area code, and some area codes notoriously are home to more scammers than others.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say they\u2019re automatically scam calls if they come from that area code (954 serves Broward County, Florida, for example, home to nearly 2 million people<\/a>) but a lot of scam calls do originate there for various reasons.\u00a0 Spokeo\u2019s Phone Reputation Score, part of the information included in a Reverse Phone Lookup<\/a>, can help you sort them out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the second article from 2018 on this year\u2019s list, making its first-ever appearance in the Top 10. It\u2019s a brief rundown of the stats on men cheating, the telltale signs that it\u2019s happening, and the steps you can take to find out if it\u2019s happening to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The real fun in these year-end lists lies in comparing them with those from previous years, and searching for meaning in the differences. Consider infidelity, for example: in 2020 it accounted for just one of the Top 10 (admittedly, the #1 article); in 2021 it swept the top 4 positions; and it also held down 4 spots in the 2022 list. In 2023? Just two spots on the list, at #3 and #10, which makes 2023 the first year an infidelity-themed article hasn\u2019t been the most-read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, we see 8 of 10 articles on the list revolving around phone scams and phone number lookups. Does this mean that scams are suddenly more of a concern than they had been during the past few years? In fairness, articles about scams and phone number searches were well-represented in the three previous years\u2019 lists as well. Are we more secure in our relationships, or just less paranoid about them now that the stress of the pandemic has subsided? <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s results may prove to be an outlier, or the beginning of a longer-term trend. The only way to know for sure is to check back next year at this time, and see what 2024\u2019s list says about our state of mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Modern Survival Skills: How To Check If a Tracking Number Is Real<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Want to Find Out If Your Partner Is Cheating? Look for These Apps<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"reverse](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/Find_with_a_Reverse_Phone_Lookup_2260x1160-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C526&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n4. What Can a Cell Number Lookup Find?<\/a>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Sometimes Caller ID Lies: Tracing a Spoofed Phone Number<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Tips to Identify 99% of Phone Scams<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Who is Calling Me? How to Tell if a Number is Real<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/shutterstock_641300068_2260x1160.jpg?resize=1024%2C526&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n8. How To Find Someone\u2019s Cell Phone Number by Name<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Phone Scam Area Codes to Watch Out For<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
10. Is He Cheating? How to Find Out<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2023 Saw a Shift in Focus from Previous Years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n