Is this number a scam?

Don't call back yet: caller ID can't tell you, but a lookup shows whether people have reported the number for scams or spam, plus its carrier and line type. A number with no reports is not proven honest, so contact the company or agency on a number you already know.

What are the warning signs on a call?

People reported losing $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, according to the FTC. Each warning sign below comes from FTC or FCC guidance, and any one is a reason to stop and check.

• The caller claims to be a government agency. The FTC says scammers often fake the name and number on your screen so a call looks like it comes from an agency. It also says real law enforcement and federal agencies won't call and threaten you.
• The caller claims to be your bank's fraud team. The FTC lists fake fraud alerts about suspicious charges, usually by text. By phone or by text, do the same thing: reach the bank yourself.
• The number shares your area code. A matching area code, sometimes even the first six digits of your own number, is a trick the FTC calls neighbor spoofing.
• It rang once and stopped. The FCC describes calls that ring once and hang up so you'll call back, sometimes from an international number that looks like a US area code.
• You're told to call back on a number they give you. Both the FTC and the FCC say to use a number you find yourself instead: the one on your account statement, or on the company's or agency's own website.

How do you check a number, step by step?

1. Don't call or text back yet. The FCC's advice is not to return calls from numbers you don't recognize. 2. Look for an unfamiliar area code. The FCC suggests checking whether a number you don't know has an international area code before you dial it, since some look like US ones. An area code can't tell you who called, so treat it as one clue, not the answer. 3. Run a lookup. Type the number in, or share it from your call log in the Lookup Pass app. You'll see:

• whether it appears in national scam and spam reporting;
• whether it's a mobile, landline, or internet (VoIP) line;
• which carrier handles its calls today, and which handles its texts;
• the caller ID name on file, if there is one.

How do you read what comes back?

A label. Different reporting sources use different rules. A label is a reason to investigate, not proof of who placed the call.

Nothing reported. No reports found means no warning was found in the sources checked. An unavailable or incomplete result is different. That is not the same as safe. Scam calls can slip through unflagged, the FTC warns, and if the number on your screen was spoofed, the lookup describes that number, not whoever actually placed the call.

A mismatch. Say a call showed your bank's name, but the caller ID name on file for that number is something else. Treat that as one more reason to call the bank on the number you already have.

What do you do after the lookup?

1. Confirm with the organization itself. Whatever the lookup shows, only your bank, or the company or agency named, can confirm the call, on the number on your account statement or its website. 2. Report it. In the app, reporting the number takes one tap. For a scam text, you can forward it to 7726 (SPAM) or report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Why can't caller ID settle it for you?

According to the FTC, a scammer can make caller ID display any name or number. Your phone may add its own warning, such as "spam" or "scam likely", but those calls still ring through.

So the screen is where the question starts, not where it ends. On Android, enabled screening silences listed calls; enabling scam blocking rejects scam-listed calls. Unknown numbers ring normally. For anything a caller claims about who they are, the final check is a call you place yourself.