“Scam Likely” Calls, How To Block Them

^{Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay}

What are they?

Calls that come in with the name “Scam Likely” are almost guaranteed to be a robocall, a telemarketer, or some type of phone scam. It’s very unlikely it is anyone you know, so don’t answer that phone call. The big carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) maintain databases of known scam numbers. They will change the Caller ID to display “Scam Likely” to warn you of this possible scam.

How to block them?

Through Your Phone

Both Android & iOS phones have options to stop these calls from ringing your phone. When turning on this feature, your phone will not ring and it will send the call directly to voicemail.

• Android Phones – Turn on caller ID & spam protection
• iOS (iPhone) – Turn on Silence Unknown Callers

Through Your Carrier

Your phone carrier may have extra services (free & paid) that may provide you with enhanced blocking. The advantage of using your carrier is that the calls get blocked before they reach you. So you won’t even get a voicemail or even know that a spam call was made.

• T-Mobile / Sprint – ScamShield is advanced scam-blocking protection that is built in and is free.
• AT&T – Call Protect app has a Free and Paid $3.99/mo. per line.
• Verizon – Call Filter has a Free version and their Plus version is a $2.99/mo for one line or $7.99/mo for 3+ lines.

Spam Blocking Apps

The third option is to install an app on your phone that will block these spam calls. Some are free, but most do have a monthly cost.

• Hiya: Caller ID & Spam Blocker
• Nomorobo Robocall Blocking
• RoboKiller: Spam Call Blocking
• YouMail Voicemail and Spam Block
• Truecaller

Why does my number show up as “Scam Likely”?

Your number can be shown as “Scam Likely” to others that you call. The scam ID systems in place to identify scam numbers aren’t perfect.

1. If you or your businesses use legitimate robocalls, your number could be incorrectly marked as spam.
2. Users may report your number intentionally or unintentionally as spam

Remove your number from a scam database

The only way to stop your number from showing up as “Scam Likely”, is to work with the carrier or blocking service to have your number removed from their list. T-Mobile has a web page to submit a correction to Report Improperly Identified Calls.

Other than that, you may consider changing your phone number if you cannot get the “Scam Likely” removed.

Additional Resources

• FCC – Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts
• Don’t Fall Prey To Scam Phone Calls
• Internet Vigilantes Scam Baiting To Protect Us
• Who Is Scammer Payback aka Pierogi