Why Is My Business Phone Number Being Marked “Spam”
Are you wondering why is my business phone number being marked as “Spam”. This is a question the team here at Comtex, Inc is asked very frequently. We are a business security company that offers business phone systems and tech support. So many of our clients initially come to us facing these types of challenges.
Smartphones May Filter Your Number
Many smartphones will show a business number as spam in a few different ways. The “SPAM” designation may be displayed in three different ways: Scam Likely, Spam Risk, Spam Likely. This occurs because phone carriers will have a list of many numbers that have been determined as potential scam risks. This is based on the history of the number. However, no one takes a serious look at these lists when the numbers reach new people. Plus, there are no services or databases available to manage how this system works.
Why Is My Business Telephone Being Given The “Spam” Designation?
There are many reasons that your business could be having a Spam designation. In fact, there are so many that we are only going to list the top three.
- The amount of outgoing calls per day from your number.
- A person has flagged your call from your business number. The person can report a number to their carrier as a spam number.
- Your outgoing caller ID is not set to display properly or is not completed. This can cause a number to be automatically flagged as a spam number.
More Information On SPAM Calls In The United States
Many carriers and third parties have been trying to combat the increasing number of scam and spam calls that are made to mobile phones. These tools are created to help identify potential spam risks. It can automatically block potential spam calls. Keep in mind that these are not perfect tools. In fact, some businesses may have their numbers marked as spam incorrectly when they are making calls to cellphones.
PROTIP: Comtex, Inc offers business telephone systems setup. Please call us if you need help setting up and managing your business telephone systems!
Each Carrier Handles SPAM Differently
Every carrier will have an app or feature that comes on the device when it is purchased. When someone calls a phone, the carrier will check the number through a system. This system is the database of numbers that have been reported as scam. If there is a number in the database that matches the number a business is calling from, it will be tagged. This means that the person who is receiving the call will see Scam Likely on their phone. This means that the recipient of the call can choose to answer or not.
There are even more features available for spam calls. Carriers will ask customers if they would like to be part of this feature. It will block all calls that would pop up as Scam Likely. This means that the recipient of the call will never know that they were dialed. There are paid and free versions of this service from every carrier. Keep in mind that there are third-party apps that will allow you to do almost the same thing.
Keep in mind that the Scam Likely ID that pops up on a cellphone is not always correct. Some calls are legitimate and will be marked as spam simply because someone has reported the number as potential spam. Remember, if someone reports a number enough for potential spam, the number will be flagged.
Many phone carriers are also working on another feature. This feature will detect large amounts of phone calls from a common calling ID. This algorithm will allow the carrier to mark these numbers as Spam Likely numbers.
How To Fix If Your Phone Number Is Marked SPAM
If you are experiencing this problem, the first thing you should do is change your number. You need a new number to replace the one that is being flagged as potential spam. Keep in mind that even if you change your number, the same thing may happen. There is always a history behind numbers that we know nothing about. If you are worried, ensure that the new phone number is working properly. Make a few calls and see how the caller ID shows up on a cellphone.
The second thing that you can do is register your number. You can register your number here: https://www.freecallerregistry.com/fcr/ and https://www.calltransparency.com. This will help ensure that your number is registered. This will decrease the chance of being flagged by carriers. The information that is asked and that you provide will be passed to the Spam Monitoring Partners. This includes HIYA, First Orion, and TNSI. This is the number one thing that you should do if you do not do anything else. This has shown to help ensure that you are not flagged as spam when making calls.
Is It Possible To Resolve The SPAM Designation Quickly?
As stated, the quickest way to resolve your Spam Designation problem is to have a new inbound number. You should use this new number in place of the previous number that has been marked as Spam or Scam. Keep in mind, again, all numbers have a history. This may cause you to have the same problem. This is why you should always test your number to ensure that it is not showing up as potential spam. Ensure that you are calling cellphones with different carriers to test this.
Another thing that you can do is register your number. You can register your number with the three Spam Monitoring Partners that carriers use. These partners are First Orion, HIYA, and TNSI. If you are only going to do one thing that is suggested, ensure that you are registering your number. This will decrease the odds of your number showing up as Spam Likely on cellphones. You can register your number here, https://www.freecallerregistry.com/fcr/ and here, https://www.calltransparency.com/.
How To Get Off The SPAM/SCAM Designation And List
Be sure to use the links and email addresses below to help register your legitimate number. You can also use these addresses to help address any concerns with your number being labeled incorrectly.
AT&T:
https://hiyahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=824667
Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular:
Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice and other fixed line (VoIP) providers, email Nomorobo for call blocking services:
POPULAR SPAM BLOCK APPS:
In addition to the useful links above, you should check out some popular apps that help block spam. You will want to reach out to these apps if your number is flagged with them. By contacting them, you will be able to clear up any misunderstanding.
- Robokiller: This is a popular app that millions of people use. If one person blocks your number or reports it as spam, everyone who has the app will also have your number blocked.
- Contact Info: support@robokiller.com
- Nomorobo: This app won the FTC Robocall Callenge. It has a scoring and rating system. It is another popular call-blocking app.
- Email: reports@nomorobo.com
- Icehook: This app keeps track of how many times your number is marked as spam. If your number is flagged too many times, it will be put as spam. Once your score reaches over 80, you will be marked as spam.
- Contact Info: https://www.icehook.com/contact
- TrueSpam: This app will use a scale as well. The scale is a zero to 100 scale. Your phone number will become flagged once your score has reached over sixty.
- Contact Info: https://www.truecnam.com/contact_us
- Telo: This app will allow you to know your phone is being flagged as spam before it is listed as spam. This can help you ensure that you do not become a spam number. Once a number hits a score of 65, a notification will be sent. uisance Score Flagged at 65 & above.
- Contact Info: https://www.telo.com
Other 3RD Party Services To Try To Fix The Problem
Register your numbers with https://calltransparency.com/
Look into Caller ID Reputation Services like https://calleridreputation.com/
Protecting Your Company Phone Number And Preventing Your Business From Being Blocked
The reason a phone number gets blocked is because of suspicious activity. This includes unusual calling patterns. A business may be flagged because they are making legitimate calls all day and have not registered their number. Businesses use a similar pattern to numbers that are spam.
The list below has some tips on how to avoid being blocked.
- The outgoing number for your business should always be valid and legitimate.
- Always ensure that your caller ID is valid. .
- You should not substitute phone numbers in a caller ID that you do not know.
- Avoid having an outgoing number that is featured on the Do Not Call list.
- Ensure that you are not making numerous calls in one minute. This is especially true if you are making calls that are not within normal business hours..
- Do not call numbers back to back too many times. Ensure that you are allowing time between calls to ensure that you are not flagged.
Another thing that you should do is check with different phone companies as well as third-paty apps analytics. These will show different complaints that have been made against the phone number that you use to call people from your business.
When you are leaving a message, you should make sure that you have the same call-back number for each. You want to be consistent. It may also be beneficial to add other contact information that a recipient can use to report their concerns.
You may try using a few different outbound numbers for different things. Here is an example, a customer support center will be less likely to be flagged based on complaints if there is a distinct number that is not linked with the telemarketing numbers. If these two departments are linked, the phone calls may be flagged as spam.
In addition to everything stated, ensure that you are registering your number for your outgoing calls. The list below will help you ensure that your number will not appear on the potential spam list. It will also help ensure that you are not being flagged when you are trying to run your business.
- AT&T: Call 800-337-5373, email dl-GFMOBusinessFra@ATT.com, or contact HIYA through their website, hiyahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Calling parties can also provide feedback at att.com/reviewmycalllabel, which links to Hiya’s portal.
- CenturyLink: Email robocall.reporting@centurylink.com, or contact Nomorobo at nomorobo.com/contact and choose “Report a Number.”
- First Orion: Contact via website at calltransparency.com.
- Frontier: Email nospam@ftr.com, or contact Nomorobo.
- Hiya: Contact through website at hiyahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Hiya provides a service for legitimate businesses to register, through connect.hiya.com.
- Nomorobo: Contact through website at nomorobo.com/contact and choose “Report a Number.” Nomorobo has a white list feature to which subscribers can add numbers in order to prevent erroneous blocking.
- Sprint: Call 888-211-4727 or contact TNS at reportarobocall.com/trf.
- T-Mobile: Contact through feedback.fosrvt.com or through First Orion at calltransparency.com.
- TNS: TNS provides a portal on its website for identifying inaccuracies, through its robocall feedback website, reportarobocall.com/trf, and it allows companies to subscribe to alerts to inform them when the number is classified as a spammer, spoofer, scammer, or robocaller.
- US Cellular: Call 888-944-9400 or contact through website at uscellular.com/support/robocall/index.html.
- Verizon: Contact through website at voicespamfeedback.com.
- Windstream: Call 800-347-1991 or contact by email at website: windstream.com/Support/Phone/Troubleshooting-repair.
Many companies mentioned above will have call labeling as an offer. This will help a recipient of a call determine whether or not they want to take the call. It is these companies that will also address any questions you may have about your number being marked as Spam Likely.
