If you’ve picked up the phone from an unrecognized number and found someone who was trying to elicit personal information or sell you a product, you’ve been a victim of a spam call.
In fact, one in three Americans has fallen victim to spam phone calls in 2021 alone, leading to nearly $30 billion in financial losses. So spam is more than just a frustrating nuisance -- it’s also a dangerous hazard to your privacy and finances.
But where do these spam calls even come from? And how do they work? Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is a Spam Call?
Spam refers to all forms of unwanted or unsolicited communication. You can receive spam text messages, emails, or physical mail from the post office. However, spam phone calls continue to be one of the most frustrating and the most difficult to identify.
These types of fraud calls can take many forms. Often, an individual will call with the intent of gaining access to personal information, such as social security numbers or bank account information. Other times, they may call and try to get you to pay them a sum of money with your credit card. And sometimes, they’re just calling to try to get you to purchase a product or service.
Robocalls are a type of spam call where you don’t speak to a person. It’s just a pre-recorded message that’s been broadcast to millions of numbers at once.
Regardless of the reason, spam calls seem to be more prominent than calls from real people within your contacts list. In fact, nearly 5 billion robocalls were sent to Americans in March of 2021 alone, with nearly half of them being placed by spammers.
That’s almost 2.5 billion phone calls made in a single month alone. So, where in the world are all of them stemming from?
Where Do Spam Calls Come From?
Spam calls can come from anywhere in the world. And since it is cheap and easy to make mass robocalls to millions of people thanks to advancements in modern technology, many scammers are getting in on the action.
With that said, this also makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly where these calls are originating from. More often than not, spam calls are coming from some form of telemarketer either trying to sell you a product or manipulate your personal information.
Spam calls made within the country seem to come from California and Florida most abundantly. However, many spam calls are made outside of the United States. The main issue with this is that this is outside of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jurisdiction, so there's really nothing that can be done about spam phone calls made from overseas.
Over the internet, scammers are able to send pre-recorded messages to millions of phone number combinations at one time. Many of these numbers are non-existent, but they are able to access real phone numbers more often than not.
This emphasizes the importance of not interacting with spam calls when you receive them, as it can fool their systems into thinking that your phone number is not real. Nearly every phone will receive spam calls at one point or another, regardless of your service provider. AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, T-Mobile, and Sprint each have some call protect avenues to slow their spread, but somehow, spammers always seem to get through.
How Do Spammers Fake Their Phone Number?
While caller ID is an excellent tool for recognizing who is calling before deciding to answer the phone, it’s not foolproof. Scammers use phone number spoofing.
Here, they alter the data on your caller ID to make it look like they are someone you know.
This typically involves changing the area code to make it appear as though these nuisance calls are being made from a local source.
Computer software makes it extremely easy to spoof numbers. It can make it much more difficult to identify unsolicited calls when they make their way to your device.
How Do Spammers Get My Phone Number?
You might also be curious as to how exactly random people are even getting access to your phone number to make these phone calls in the first place. While robocallers often send out the same pre-recorded message, telemarketers and other spam callers can use different methods.
For one, your phone number may be sold to third-party providers. It was found that many large mobile carriers were giving their customer’s phone numbers to data aggregators in 2018 during a major security breach. While this doesn’t happen anymore, the damage may already be done. Scammers can “purchase” your number from these sources so that they can then try to give you a call.
Additionally, scammers can access your number through third-party providers if you applied for credit, contributed to charities, or even if you’re a registered voter.
This isn’t to say that you should stop conducting these activities just because you’re worried about spam. You just need to know what to do in order to combat spam calls should they occur.
How to Block Spam Calls
It might feel like you’re defenseless against unwanted calls, but there are simple ways to take action.
For one, you can block numbers directly on your smartphone. On iPhone iOs, just go to the Phone app and tap on Recents. Then, press the blue information button to the right of the number you wish to block. Finally, tap “Block This Caller.”
On an Android device, you’ll go to the Phone app and hit Recents as well. When you find the number you want to block, just hold down your finger and select Block from the pop-up screen.
You can also silence unknown callers or spammers on many landlines using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software. Another option is adding yourself to the National Do Not Call Registry, although this only blocks telemarketer sales calls.
However, these avenues only work as a reactive measure after a spam call has already been made. Scam shield or scam block apps like Firewall can help cut back on spam before they ever even dial through.
Firewall creates a whitelist call filter based on your contacts so you can have complete control over who gets to contact you. When an unsolicited number calls, you’ll see who they are and even why they’re calling so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to take it.
It can also help block spam texts to cover even more of your bases.
In Conclusion
Spam calls are a form of unsolicited communication made through a phone call. Many spam calls are made from outside of the country, which can make them difficult to track down.
Additionally, since many scam calls are sourced from internet-based software that allows for mass pre-recorded messages to be sent out at one time, it’s difficult to be able to trace the origin of these types of calls.
Spammers use tactics such as faking their phone number through call spoofing as well as purchasing your phone number from third-party sources. This can make it even more difficult for you to recognize and avoid these potentially dangerous tricks.
With that said, you can block spam directly on your phone or even use another app to help cut back.
Try Firewall now with our 14-day free trial.
Sources:
Americans lost $29.8 billion to phone scams over the past year | CNBC