Who Called Me from This Phone Number? You Can Find It Here!

Do you constantly get calls from unknown numbers? Are you continuously being bombarded by unsolicited callers? Have you ever wondered, "who is calling from this number?" Well, you aren't alone. A study from ABC4 found that Americans receive an average of 3.7 scam calls and 1.5 scam texts daily. In 2022 alone, it's estimated that Americans will receive 52 billion robocalls; that's 1 billion calls per week!

In this post, we will explore the recent increase in robocalls, different types of scam calls, and how you can combat the scammers while answering the question, "who called me?" After reading, you will be prepared to spot scams and take action to reduce the amount of fraud calls you and your fellow human get per day.

The Rise of Spam Robocalls

Automated phone calls have increased dramatically thanks to 4 surprising developments over the past decade.

• Technology – Automated call technology has advanced, allowing scammers to monetize the flaws in the phone system.
• Financial incentives – Scamming people is highly profitable, and sadly there are plenty of potential victims to take advantage of.
• Legal – The telemarketing industry has had numerous victories in court, allowing them to flood the phone lines with automated robot callers.
• Pro-Robocall Lobbyists – Yes, it's a thing, and they have an incredible amount of power in Washington.

Types of Spam Callers

You've likely gotten a phone call warning that you are dangerously close to being subjected to legal action because of unpaid taxes, your car warranty is at risk of expiring, or maybe you've been presented with a favorable offer to wipe clean your staggering student debt entirely.

All of these scenarios are deployed thousands of times every day in hopes that the right person will pick up the phone and willfully hand over personal information without wondering, "who is calling me from this number."

While some businesses use telemarketing as a legitimate marketing strategy (we're using legitimate loosely) and solely out for malicious purposes, most calls are scams. Even though there is a difference between a company promoting products or services over the phone and people looking to steal personal information, both are equally annoying.

How Spammers Avoid Government Agencies

You would think that a conspiracy to gather as many social security numbers as possible, posing to be the United States IRS, would be ended swiftly by federal authorities. But unfortunately, the shortcomings in caller ID and the phone systems allow perpetrators to blow up the phones of nearly every American with a cell phone.

Scammers take a fishing with dynamite approach to robocalling in hopes of getting a few people to take the bait out of millions. The process typically looks something like this:

• Overseas robot dialers make millions of calls per hour.
• The calls are then laundered into the US by a gateway carrier.
• After the call is in the system, it's passed on to phone carriers.
• You are hit with the call along with millions of other people. Most people hang up, but some fall for the scam.
• The callers who answer are placed into an automated phone tree and identified as qualified leads.
• The leads are sold to buyers who use a closer to sell something or steal personal information.

The process is complex enough to where the FTC and FCC can't adequately enforce the few laws that do protect consumers from fraud. In addition, profit margins are high enough that even if a group is caught performing an illegal telemarketing ploy, they can pay the fine and keep generating or buying leads.

The Most Common Phone Scams

Since June 1st, 2021, over 68.4 million Americans have reported being victimized by phone scams totaling over $39.5 billion.

Dozens of scams are being used, and more are being developed daily. Scammers understand that their approach won't work forever, so they must continuously keep adapting to stay profitable. Below are a few of the most common phone scams.

Threats from the IRS

You will receive an automated call claiming to be from the IRS. The caller sounds official, and the tone is urgent. If you don't proceed to hand over your personal information, a warrant will be issued for your arrest; you'll be detained and sent to federal prison for tax evasion.

While this plan sounds farfetched, it's been working for years. If you've received this call, you should think, "who called me from this number" because it definitely wasn't the IRS. When the government wants to get in contact with you, it will always be through the mail.

Technical Support

Many scammers prey on senior citizens because they may be hard of hearing or unfamiliar with technology. Calls claiming to offer technical support could be phishing for passwords or other personal information.

Fake Charity Inquiries

Another way to convince people to give away their hard-earned money is by pulling on their heartstrings. For example, scammers will pose as a fake charity to persuade people to give them their credit card information over the phone.

Free Gifts and Lottery Scams

You've likely heard the saying, "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't," unfortunately, some people will still believe they have won the lottery or a prize and just need to provide their information to collect.

Debt Relief

Credit card and student loan debt can be a significant burden on people. Scammers will offer relief, often using typical student loan amounts to attract victims in return for their personal information.

How to Combat Scam Callers

The good news is we aren't helpless in the fight against scam callers, and we can learn who called me from this phone number when a suspicious call comes through.

Follow the steps below to stay one step ahead of robocalls and create a more challenging environment for scammers.

Block Number

If you end up answering a robocall, permanently block the number.

Call Screening Services

Google and Apple provide new automated technology built into their phones to detect, report, and block spam numbers.

Report to the FCC

Alerting the FCC about spam callers helps government agencies identify scammers. Part of the problem is the overwhelming number of daily calls; helping out the government by reporting numbers could expose a criminal organization.

You can send complaints to the FCC online and by forwarding texts to 7726 or SPAM.

Add your Number to the Do Not Call List

Successfully getting your number on a spammer's do not call list can be tricky, but it is worth a shot. The first problem is you must answer the call, which can lead to more calls. Another issue is trusting a telemarketer to add your number to their list.

In most cases, we suggest not answering when you don't know who called me, but if you do answer and get a human on the line, definitely request to be added to the do not call list.

Report the Number to Callmsg

The most effective solution to combat spam is to use Callmsg. When you are in a situation where you think, "who is calling me from this number" you can actually find out and report the caller on the same platform.

How Does Callmsg Work?

Callmsg is the most comprehensive solution available online to identify spam callers, find out other people's experiences with the number, and report the caller. Below are the steps you can take to reduce the number of scam calls you get daily.

Report the Number

Go to Callmsg and enter the entire 10-digit phone number. You will be redirected to a page revealing the information corresponding with the caller.

View Information on the Caller

Once you've been redirected, you will have access to the caller's location, carrier, and time zone.

Read User Reports

If other people from the Callmsg community have had calls from the number, you will be able to read their reports. This is helpful if you've revealed any personal information or are looking for answers to why this number keeps calling you.

Submit the Number for Spam Behavior

Enter the reason why the caller was trying to reach you. Callmsg provides dozens of the most common types of spam or scam calls.

Then, describe what happened when you talked with the caller. This portion is optional but can help other community members avoid answering calls from scammers. Make sure you don't reveal any personal information.

Once you've submitted a report, other Callmsg users can review the information you've provided when they enter the number into the search query.

Join a Community Against Spam Callers and Scammers

Callmsg is a free service that helps people identify and avoid phone scams. While it is the best way to find out "who called me?" you must take a multifaceted approach when avoiding being scammed over the phone. Remember to prevent answering numbers you don't know when possible, always block spam calls, utilize new call screening technology, and report all scammers.

Reverse Phone Number Lookup

It's one more approach to saying, get me the NAME of somebody from a phone number. In the former times (before PCs and cellphones), there were distributed reverse phone registries like telephone directories that were utilized by policing private agents. They were otherwise called cross catalogs. Like printed phonebooks with white pages and yellow pages, these never again exist, and have for the most part moved online.

How a Reverse Phone Lookup Can Help You.

See whose calling – provide you with extensive reports to assist you find the name and address of a mystery caller.

Identify Scam and spam calls – Scam and spam calls are getting more common. Uncover caller identity and location.

Criminal records – Checking the criminal records helps you to feel safer while meeting people online.

There are various fields where reverse phone lookup is beneficial. The individual use of reverse phone lookup services is limited, but for organizations, it is mostly used. Below are 3 benefits of reverse phone lookup services for organizations:

Check Customer Data – We are in the versatile age and it appears more crucial to check the details of customers. You can also confirm customer information like reaching out to numbers and addresses-with reverse phone lookup. By doing this, you can be explicit that you're continually exploiting one of the most recent details while interfacing with clients, and with this, you will be saved a lot of time and issues with time.

Get Alternate Contacts – If you have ever in the past had a client that was challenging to get to maybe because they just had one phone number that's not going through anymore, with a reverse phone lookup, you can watch their correspondence choices to make sure that you can deal with them as required. With these details, you can reach your customers in a design that is generally utilitarian for them.

Find Criminal Backgrounds – Is it true that you are dealing with another staff? Or on the other hand, would you say you are searching to assess conceivable organization companions? Might it be said that you are bothered with their past?

With a reverse phone lookup, you can easily check for criminal records so you can be careful on how to deal with them. However, it is important to remember that you want to routinely value your customers' privacy.