Caller ID has become a greater nuisance lately. We are seeing it and so are our clients.
Several things are happening:
- Increased spam calls across the board, which led to the “Spam Registry” in an attempt to identify spam calls easier
- A greater percentage of businesses are being mistakenly flagged as SPAM RISK
How this happens:
- Your telephone carrier provides your caller ID of choice (main number/business name) on outbound calls
- All calls are routed through various carriers until it reaches its destination
- Every carrier has its database for caller ID. Your number/business caller ID may be changed or flagged as ‘spam’ by any of the carriers while being routed
- Carrier databases are, unfortunately, not updated frequently or reliably
If your number is mistakenly flagged as SPAM RISK:
- Make sure your caller ID is correct with your telephone carrier and through your phone system
- Let your technology partner know, so they are in the loop to assist when possible
- Keep track of reported caller ID issues from your clients (their number, their carrier, date/time of call)
- Register your business with the Free Call Registry, which is operated by a coalition of telecom providers – https://www.freecallerregistry.com/fcr/
In addition, you can email the following spam-blocking services to introduce your business and phone numbers with the intention that they update their records on your behalf:
Carriers
- AT&T (HIYA): https://hiyahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=824667
- T-Mobile, Sprint (1st Orion): https://calltransparency.com
- Verizon, U.S. Cellular: https://reportarobocall.com
Popular spam-blocking apps
- Robokiller: [email protected]
- NoMoRobo: [email protected]
- YouMail: [email protected]
- Icehook: https://www.icehook.com/contact
- TrueSpam: https://www.truecnam.com/contact_us
- Telo: https://www.telo.com
Best practices for businesses to avoid being SPAM RISK and navigating if already misidentified:
- Understand that your caller ID may not correctly identify your business
- Train staff to identify themselves to callers immediately
- Manage the frequency of calls and messaging – consider your overall customer experience
- Leave messages identifying oneself/business, so the call is recognized as legitimate
- Let clients know you are aware of the ongoing caller ID issue
What to do when receiving spam calls:
- Understand that caller ID is not 100% accurate
- For individuals – the best practice is to not answer calls from numbers you don’t know
- Only return calls from numbers that leave an identifiable message
- Do not return calls if they don’t leave a message or is an autogenerated message
- As a courtesy, let the business know if their caller ID is flagged at SPAM RISK
With telephone calls being an important business communication tool, caller ID is one central aspect of your technology. Despite the numerous factors that go into caller ID, use these best practices to avoid being flagged as spam, and navigating if misidentified.