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In today's digital age, with over 15 billion cell phones around the world, it's not uncommon to find yourself questioning, "Who called me from this unknown phone number?" After all, with such a staggering number of mobile devices in circulation, mistaken dials and misentered contacts are bound to happen.
However, not all incoming calls from unknown numbers are innocent mistakes or prank calls. A growing percentage of these calls are spam, with telemarketers and scammers aiming to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. If you've noticed an increase in unknown callers reaching your cell phone number, it might be time to delve into the mystery.
A spam-blocking mobile app like Burner can be an effective frontline defense, as it filters and blocks calls from unknown numbers. But for persistent spam calls, a more investigative approach may be required. Read below to learn why you might get so many calls from unknown numbers — and how to find out who those numbers belong to.
Why Random Numbers Might Be Calling You
The truth is that many calls from unknown numbers aren't simple mix-ups. With an estimated 50.3 billion spam calls made in 2022, an alarming 30% increase from previous years, it's clear that this issue isn't disappearing anytime soon.
What’s particularly concerning about these robocalls is that authorities are well aware of the issue but are limited in their means of restricting them. The introduction of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act in late 2019 aimed to mitigate the ever-growing menace of spammers.
These calls aren't just a nuisance, though. In the past year alone, Americans have lost an estimated $30 billion to phone scams. Scammers, typically using algorithms to find ideal targets, dispatch automated bots to dial millions of numbers randomly. Answering such a call triggers the scam attempt, often culminating in requests for your financial information.
It’s worth mentioning that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a popular pretense used by scammers. Even if you're savvy enough to hang up as fast as possible after answering a COVID-related scam call, answering the call at all signals to these scammers that your number is active, which boosts the likelihood of getting called back.
How To Identify an Unknown Caller: A Few Options
To stay safe from these scams and protect your personal information, Sosin notes that you should always assume that calls coming from an unknown number are scams.
That being said, if you are curious as to who is on the other end of the line and calling you, there are quite a few options for finding out.
Google It
Naturally, if you're pondering, "Who called me from this specific phone number?" your first instinct may likely be to "Google it." Truth be told, a web-based lookup tool is an excellent starting point.
Google can provide a wealth of information about a caller at the touch of a button. Simply input the troublesome telephone number into the search bar, and Google's algorithm will do the rest.
What sets Google apart from other search tools is its scope. Its crawlers index billions of web pages, which include sites dedicated to tracking and listing reported scam numbers. This means there's a good chance that the mysterious number plaguing your mobile phone could show up in the search results.
Bear in mind that the information Google reveals may be limited or fragmented, which brings us to the next step in your investigation.
Use a Reverse Phone Number Lookup Service
Although a Google search is an excellent starting point, it isn't primarily designed for conducting a detailed phone number search. To delve deeper and unearth more precise information, consider using a free reverse phone lookup service. These tools, specifically designed to provide information linked to a phone number, can reveal the caller's identity, including their full name, address, and relevant background information. “Make sure to only use legal resources offered by reputable companies when taking this step,” highlights Sosin.
Phone number search services like the ones listed below make it their mission to scan billions of public records and data points to deliver accurate information about the number in question:
- Instant Checkmate
- NumLooker
- PeopleFinders
- Zlookup
- Spokeo
- CocoFinder
- Whitepages
These can be invaluable resources for conducting a more in-depth phone number search, providing a comprehensive background check that leaves no stone unturned.
When using a reverse phone lookup site, all you need is the ten-digit telephone number. The service's algorithm then dives into an extensive database of public records, phone books, court records, and other online directories to retrieve a detailed report. While this search might take a bit longer than a simple search engine query, the wealth of information it can potentially uncover is unparalleled.
Track Down the Spoof Caller
Interestingly, reverse phone lookup services can also help identify spoofed phone calls — yet another unsavory tactic employed by scammers. In this scenario, the Caller ID displays a different number than the actual source, often resulting in minimal information linked to the displayed number.
If your search returns sparse information, chances are you've encountered a spoofed call. While some reverse phone lookup services provide free searches with limited results, for more thorough exploration, a subscription might be necessary — which means it might be time to break out your credit card. “Be careful to only use reputable reverse phone lookup tools, especially when making a purchase. If you aren’t sure whether a reverse phone lookup service is legitimate, a quick Google search can provide more info,” Sosin notes.
Rest assured, despite the in-depth nature of these searches, they remain completely legal, relying only on public databases and public record searches (like criminal records and employment history). They offer a more detailed and targeted approach to identifying unwanted calls, helping you secure your phone lines from hackers, scammers, and pranksters.
Armed with the power of a detailed report from a reverse phone lookup service, you're better equipped to protect yourself from potential scams and unwanted communication.
Dial *67 After Receiving a Call
In our current digital age, almost every up-to-date phone, whether it's a mobile phone or a landline, is equipped with a Caller ID feature. It provides an instant peek into the identity of the caller, displaying their phone number as soon as the call comes through. However, crafty scammers or private callers have figured out how to mask their numbers, resulting in your Caller ID showing the call as unknown, blocked, or private.
Don't fret: There's a way around this. If you're keen to uncover the identity of the unknown caller, the Last Call Return code "*69" might just be the tool you need. This handy phone feature works by retrieving the most recent caller’s number. Note that it only works for the last call you received and must be employed within 30 minutes of receiving that call.
Once you've dialed *69, a recording should sound, providing the hidden number. It might even offer you an option to redial the number simply by pressing "1". Bear in mind that the precise services offered with the Last Call Return feature can vary depending on your phone service provider. Some providers may automatically redial the last number, bypassing the step where it discloses the number first.
Given the high probability that these calls are attempts at scamming you, it's always safer not to call back the number even once you have it. With the number revealed, you can instead look it up on a phone lookup site for a more detailed background check. These include Intelius, BeenVerified, TruthFinder, and more.
Check Your Voicemail
Regardless of whether your Caller ID displays a number, it's often safer to let the call go to voicemail if you don't recognize the number. After all, why risk engaging with an unknown caller when you can safely discern their intentions through their message? “In addition, if an unknown caller leaves no voicemail, you can usually assume the caller had a scam in mind,” notes Sosin.
Checking your voicemail is a secure, easy, and risk-free method to determine who called you. It might turn out that the caller was a friend or family member using a new phone.
Nevertheless, the unfortunate reality is that the call is more likely to have been a telemarketer trying to sell you something or a robocall attempting to spam you. While spam callers usually don't leave voicemails, some do, making it somewhat tricky to determine the legitimacy of the voicemail. “When in doubt, ignore the voicemail and don’t make a return call. In addition, blocking the number to avoid repeat calls can help you avoid more confusion,” says Sosin.
Once you've confirmed the call to be a scam, it's time to use the call blocker feature on your Android/Apple or an external call blocker app to block the number from bothering you again. Make sure to also update your contact information and look up the number on phone lookup sites, utilizing their unlimited searches feature. As an additional security measure, check your social media accounts and email, ensuring that the scam hasn't extended to your online presence as well.
Verify the Call With a Trusted Number
Sometimes, an unknown number might leave a voicemail that sounds like it comes from a legitimate place. If someone calls you claiming to be your bank, doctor’s office, insurance company, or anything else you are a part of, you can always confirm that the call is real by looking up the company’s main number and dialing.
For example, if an unknown call leaves a voicemail claiming to be from your bank, look up the actual number of the bank you use and call that number to confirm the original call was legitimate. It is also a good idea to save frequently used business and institution numbers in your phone as real contacts so there is less of a likelihood that someone you need to speak with will call you from an unknown number.
Sometimes, family members or friends with the same area code as you may receive a similar spam call within the same timeframe. This can also happen with spam texts. You can ask those close to you if they’ve received any suspicious calls from the same numbers to confirm that an unknown caller is spam.
Check the Area Code
Another strategy to use when trying to get to the bottom of the “Who called me from this phone number?” mystery is to look at the area code. The area code of a phone number refers to the first three digits. It identifies where the phone that’s calling you was purchased. And for businesses, it will tell you the city that phone is calling from.
In all likelihood, the businesses you need to receive calls from will be located near the city you live in. So, when you receive unknown calls, look up the area code. If it matches yours or is from a nearby town, there is a greater likelihood the caller is legitimate and may be from a business you frequent.
If you live in Boston and the call is from Phoenix, it is less likely to be a legitimate caller and more likely to be spam. This is not a foolproof method but will certainly help you narrow down the chances of a call being spam. And it takes less research and work than fully identifying the number. It’s a good place to start.
Why Is It Important To Know Who Is Calling You?
It can be easy to ignore unknown calls and delete them from your phone without investigating any further into the caller’s name. Ignoring calls is certainly a strategy you can use to discourage scammers, as they’re less likely to call back if your number hasn’t been confirmed to be in service. But while it requires a bit more work, it really can be helpful to figure out who called.
You Don’t Want To Miss Important Calls
While you should try to add as many essential people and businesses into your contacts as possible, it’s difficult to add everyone you may ever need to communicate with. If you go through the steps of figuring out who called you, you will be less likely to miss an important call.
Phone calls from institutions like dentist’s and doctor’s offices can be time sensitive as well. Calls regarding appointment reminders, confirmations, and time changes may need to be answered quickly to confirm your spot.
This is why it’s even more important to add your main offices to your contacts as the phone number identification process can take more time. But if a call about something like this comes from an unknown number, you will greatly benefit from taking the time to figure out who’s calling.
The same goes for missed calls from family members. Maybe there is a cousin you don’t have on your phone, or perhaps your aunt has a new number. Figuring out the identity of the dialer will help you stay connected to your family and prevent you from missing out on essential news.
To minimize the risk of missing important news from family and friends, be sure to keep up to date with everyone’s current contact information. You can confirm with others to be sure you have your contacts up to date. That way no one important is labeled as “unknown” and accidentally thought to be spam.
Confirm Spam Calls and Protect Yourself From Future Scams
Looking up unknown calls and confirming that they’re scams allows you to take proper action rather than simply ignoring them and hoping for the best. Once you’ve identified a spam or scam call, you can block the number on an iPhone by:
- Going to your Recent calls
- Clicking the information button “i” on the right side of the call
- Clicking “Block This Caller” at the bottom (it will be in red)
Blocking the caller prevents them from reaching you again and helps decrease the amount of spammers who can contact you. On an iPhone, most spam calls will also be labeled as “Spam Likely” when they call you. This can be a helpful tool in determining which calls are legitimate and which should be left unanswered.
Identifying and blocking potential scammers also protects your phone from being hacked further. If you answer a scam call because rather than identifying unknown numbers on your own, you answer everything regardless, that scammer now knows your number is real and active. They may use that information to do a variety of nefarious things.
What Can Hackers Do With Your Phone Number?
Unfortunately, something as small as a phone number is enough to give hackers what they need to dig deeper into your life and discover more information. This is again why it’s extra important to ignore all unknown numbers that are labeled as “Scam Likely” and confirm by figuring out who called you.
Find Your Private Data and Personal Information
Once hackers know your phone number belongs to a real person, they can plug it into the same sites you may use to identify phone numbers. Through this, they can find other associated information about you like your address or criminal record.
People with this information can then sell it online to anyone in the market. Those people may then go on to become identity thieves, blackmailers, stalkers, and more. All of which are very, very bad.
Reroute Your Number to Their Phone
People who have access to your mobile number can contact your carrier, claim to be you, and get calls to your number rerouted to theirs. And because of dual authenticators and verification codes, with access to your number they can claim “forgot password” on any of your accounts, receive the confirmation code, and log in to your account.
Send a Scam via Text
Texting scams are even more dangerous because they can contain malware and malicious links that automatically send a virus to your phone. This is also where scammers may become phishers and request personal information via text. Never give out anything personal over the phone or via text unless you’re 100% sure the sender is legitimate.
All of these malicious scams can be avoided if you take the time to identify who called you. By confirming a caller is a scammer, you can take the proper action to block and delete them rather than giving them the time and information they may need to gain deeper access to your accounts and information.
Identify Stalkers
Contact and call blocking is great for when someone is constantly sending you unwanted texts or calling too frequently, but unfortunately it does not eliminate your number from their phone. While a stalker, angry ex, and anyone else you’ve deemed worthy of blocking may be prevented from calling you from their main number, nothing stops them from calling from another number.
Phone numbers make you widely accessible to anyone who has your number. People can still reach you from landlines, public phones, work phones, and friends’ phones. They will appear as an unknown number when they try calling you from another phone.
If you know of a stalker or anyone who has been crossing your boundaries to get a hold of you, you should check where your unknown calls come from to make sure you aren’t being harassed. And especially in the event where law enforcement needs to become involved, it’s good to have records of attempted calls.
But if it’s not that serious enough of a situation, you can then block the stalker’s second number and keep eliminating their options to call you.
How Can a Second Phone Number Help?
Your phone number is often needed to sign up for online accounts, make online purchases, and more. The more you have to give your phone number out, the greater number of places it appears online, and the better the chances are that your number will fall into the wrong hands.
This in turn means you’re more likely to get a higher quantity of unknown calls. And since it takes a few steps to get to the bottom of who called you, this can create a lot more work for you. Nobody wants that.
Using a second phone number app like Burner is a great way to combat this challenge. Use your second number when signing up for anything online or when communicating with anyone unknown so that if anyone gains access to your number, they only get your second one.
Apps like Burner phone also come with spam blocking features that can help filter through illegitimate calls and streamline your notifications. So sending your spam to an app with built in blockers is a great way to minimize the number of unknown calls you have to deal with. It’s a win-win situation.
In the event that your second number is hacked, you can simply get a new one. Your primary number remains protected and secure, which means you don’t have to send a new number to your contacts, and you don’t have to alert essential businesses of a change.
Try Burner today to experience the wonders and protections of a second number. Send all those unknown calls to the back Burner.
The Takeaway
Frequently receiving calls from unknown or random phone numbers is one of the annoying downsides of owning a smartphone. In general, avoid answering these calls, as they are usually spam.
There are plenty of ways to find out who is calling after you have their number, and it’s just not worth the risk of picking up. Sosin notes that even someone who is tech-savvy and equipped with plenty of common sense can fall victim to a scam call — protect yourself by any means necessary.
Use key strategies like looking up the area code and saving essential contacts in your phone to get an initial idea of the nature of the call and to minimize unknown callers. Stay safe from scams, spam, and attempted hacking by giving out your primary number to as few people as possible. And don’t get complacent or comfortable with unknown numbers; it’s always better to find out who called you.
The best way to avoid dealing with these disruptions and minimize your scam risk is to use a spam-blocking app like Burner. You won’t have to worry about constantly receiving unknown calls or potentially getting scammed by blocking all unknown numbers.
Sources:
Digital Around the World | Global Digital Insights
Robocalls Top 50.3 Billion in 2022 | PR Newswire
Americans Lost $29.8 Billion to Phone Scams Alone Over the Past Year | CNBC
Coronavirus Scams | Federal Communications Commission
Caller ID Spoofing | Federal Communications Commission
5 Ways To Block or Hide Your Number When Making Calls | USA Today
Exposing Voicemail Call-Back Scams | fcc.gov
