Getting repeated calls from an unknown number can be stressful. If your number is on a marketing list, you can end up getting hundreds of calls a week from salespeople and scammers who won’t take no for an answer. These nuisance calls can quickly become a problem. They’re especially annoying if the calls are coming early in the morning and late and night when you’re trying to sleep.
If you want to stop unknown numbers from calling you, one of the best ways to stop them is with a reverse lookup. If you answer the phone to these callers, they’ll often persist and keep calling you. With a reverse phone lookup, however, you can find out exactly who is behind the calls. Sites such as Check People will let you search a phone number and find who’s behind it quickly.
Reverse phone lookups let you find out the details of who is behind the mystery calls and then ask them to stop. If it’s a company that keeps calling you, you can potentially report them. You’ll need to know the person or company’s full details before you can file a report, which is why the reverse phone lookup is important.
How a Reverse Phone Lookup Works
There are now lots of sites that allow you to complete a reverse phone lookup quickly. All you need for these services is the phone number that keeps calling you. You enter the number, and the service will search through the records to find the complete details. Through a reverse phone lookup, you can find out who owns the phone number and their details. This will tell you their name, address, and other contact information if it’s available.
Simply performing a google search can reveal some of these details, but it won’t give you an accurate report. A reverse phone lookup will search through all available data on that number and tell you exactly who is behind it. After finding this information, you can file an official complaint against the person or company. Contact the FCC, which handles consumer complaints. Once you’ve filed a complaint, the unwanted calls should stop, or else the person could face legal action.
How to Spot a Telephone Scam
Phone scams are unfortunately quite common and can be surprisingly convincing. You might think you could never fall for a scam, but scammers have lots of different techniques that make people think they’re legitimate. Look out for the following clues, which can indicate the phone call is a scam.
- If the phone number is unknown or private – Scammers will often hide their phone number so you can’t perform a reverse phone lookup. If an official person from a company such as your energy supplier or bank is calling you, they’ll always use a visible phone number.
- Telling you you’ve won a competition – A common scam is to tell people that they’ve won a prize, but you’ll first need to pay a small registration fee to receive it. If you don’t remember ever entering into a competition, it’s probably a scam. If they ask you to pay first, it’s definitely a scam.
- If the person tries to pressure you into a quick decision – You might get told that this is a special offer or that if you don’t act now, it will be too late. Never let anyone pressure you into anything over a phone call.
- Asking you to confirm your personal details – Some scammers are simply out to collect your personal details, which they’ll use to commit fraud. You should never provide your personal details out over the phone, no matter how persuasive the person might be,
The phone caller threatens that you’ll be arrested or deported – Some scammers will use threats to try and get what they want. They might tell you that if you don’t pay this fine immediately, you face arrest. Real law enforcement or government agencies would never call you or threaten you in this way.