Your phone might constantly ring from unwanted robocalls and spam. More than 50 billion robocalls were received by Americans last year. While some spam calls are merely annoying, many fraudulent calls aim to steal your personal information or money. Fortunately, by using free reverse phone lookups, you identify incoming calls and block or avoid unwanted ones.
What are robocalls and spam calls?
Robocalls utilize auto-dialers and pre-recorded messages instead of live callers. They allow scammers to make millions of calls at low cost.
- IRS imposters – The recorded message claims you owe money to the IRS and must pay immediately. However, the real IRS would never call out of the blue about unpaid taxes.
- Tech support scams – The message says your computer has a virus or other issue. The goal is to get you to provide remote access or pay for bogus tech support services.
- Warranty and protection plan calls – The recording claims your vehicle or appliance warranty is expiring and you should renew. In reality, they have no relation to the actual manufacturer.
- Credit card interest rate reduction – This robocall falsely promises to lower your credit card interest rates. Phishing attempts are being made to steal your account information.
- Charity fundraising calls – While some legitimate charities do outreach by phone, scammers often pretend to collect donations for fake or distorted causes.
In addition to robocalls, other common spam calls include:
- Live sales calls – Telemarketers ignore the Do Not Call registry and call trying to sell products, services, subscriptions, and more, even if you’ve asked them not to.
- Scam calls – Live fraudsters call posing as someone official, trying to steal your money or data through tricks and threats.
- Call spoofing – Scammers use technology to fake the caller ID so it looks like a call is from a local number, business, government agency, or even your contacts. But the call originates elsewhere.
Why Are Free Reverse Phone Lookups Helpful?
who called me reverse phone lookups allow you to identify the source of an incoming call before choosing to answer. By searching for a phone number, you check it against massive databases of known spam numbers.
- If the caller ID name matches the registered number holder – Spoofed calls show a name that does not match the number. A scam is indicated by this red flag.
- Location of the registered line – Is the call from somewhere far from you or linked to fraud? This knowledge helps avoid scams.
- Details on the type of line – Landlines, VoIP lines, and toll-free numbers reveal if a call is from a residence, business, or call center.
- Complaints about the number – Other users often report numbers that make unwanted calls so you see if a number is notorious for spam calls.
Free reverse phone lookups check all these data points in seconds. By doing a quick search before answering, you decide if the call seems legitimate or suspicious and answer accordingly.
You even do reverse lookups on your phone number to see what details are visible publicly online to help you manage privacy.
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