How to Find Out If a Phone Number is Fake? Simple and Effective Tips

A fake phone number is a number that is used to trick people into identity theft, steal personal data, and conduct financial fraud.

These numbers are often anonymous. Hence, scammers use them without fear of exposure. And as they can easily use it to hide their identity, scam calls are common these days.

The common types of fake phone numbers include fictional phone numbers and spoofed numbers.
 

1. Fictional phone numbers
   A fictional phone number is a type of number that is not associated with a business or a person. You can see these types of phone numbers mostly used in movies and TV shows to avoid using real phone numbers that viewers can call. Some examples of fictional phone numbers are 555-2368, 776-2323, or 555-0123. So, if you get the number from such odd numbers, you can tell that the number is fake.
    
2. Spoofed Numbers
   Spoofed numbers are phone numbers that are changed to hide the caller’s identity by altering the information that appears on the recipient’s caller ID. This type of number is commonly used for scams like robocalls, phishing, and tech support.

Scammers use fake phone numbers for identity theft, fraud, and inflicting harm to others. However, some businesses may also use them for privacy and safety.

Here are some reasons why people use fake phone numbers:
 

• Scamming: Scammers often use fake phone numbers to trick innocent people into answering calls or messages and extract personal information.
• Privacy: People like celebrities and business personnel use “No Caller ID” to protect their privacy or while making anonymous reports/ complaints.
• Forged Identity: Fake numbers are also used to create a fake identity to have private conversations online.
• Dating Apps: People also use fake numbers on dating apps to protect and maintain their privacy.
• Harassment: These kinds of numbers are also often used to harass or intimidate people without revealing the caller’s identity.
• Online Registration: Most online apps and websites require phone numbers for verification, so users may also use fake numbers to prevent spam calls and messages.

You can know a phone number is fake when the number format looks abnormal, has an unusual area code, and is unreachable when dialed.

Here’s how you can tell if a phone number is fake:
 

You should check if a phone number is real or fake to protect your personal information and privacy from possible scams.
 

• Privacy Protection: Scammers use fake numbers to stalk and harass individuals, hence, you should check their validity to ensure your privacy and safety.
• Fraud Prevention: By knowing the fake numbers, you can reduce your risk of becoming a fraud victim, such as credit card fraud or identity theft.
• Establishing Reliable Business Transactions: While conducting any kind of business transaction, verifying phone numbers ensures trust and reliability, preventing potential misunderstandings or fraudulent activities.
• Online Safety: Verifying the validity of a number while using apps and websites helps prevent the creation of fake accounts.
• Avoiding Unwanted Calls: You can avoid wasting time on unnecessary calls by identifying spam numbers.

If you get a call from a fake number, do not answer the calls, avoid giving your personal information, and report the number to the concerned authority immediately.

If you don’t recognize the caller ID, it’s best not to answer it and let it go straight to voicemail. In case you answer it and hear suspicious robotic voices or urgent requests for information, you should hand it up immediately.

Be wary of callers who pressure you for sensitive information like your Social Security number, passwords, or bank account details. Genuine companies or agencies never call to ask for information. So, you can tell the number is fake if the caller directly asks for your sensitive information. So, when you get such requests, be careful not to provide your personal information.

When you get a scam call, block the caller ID immediately. You can easily block numbers on most smartphones from call settings. If your device doesn’t have built-in settings, you can upgrade to the cloud telephony phone system with the call-blocking feature to stop getting unwanted calls.

Reporting spam calls to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) helps them track and take action against the scammers. FTC can blacklist such numbers and prevents you and others from getting scam calls from them in the future.

You can know a phone number is fake if it contains unusual formats and suspicious caller IDs. Avoid answering such numbers, and be careful not to give out sensitive information to unknown numbers.

However, it can sometimes be difficult to identify fake numbers. If you run a business, it's better to upgrade to an advanced phone system that can help avoid fake calls. Calilio’s cloud telephony can block and filter out unwanted numbers to prevent fake numbers from reaching you. Sign up on Calilio today!

Yes, there are free tools like Cocofinder, Scamio, and IPQS that can help identify suspicious phone numbers.

You can tell if your phone number is fake if the caller description doesn’t match the caller ID name. Also, if the number is abnormal, it's more likely a fake number.

You can check if the phone number is genuine using the reverse phone lookup services, researching on Google or the official website of the business, and contacting the service providers on other numbers.

Fake numbers often have repeated patterns, unidentified area codes, and strange formats. They can also sometimes appear as “No caller ID” or “Unknown.” numbers on your Caller ID.