What is a spam call?
A spam call is a call made from a number that has been flagged as suspicious by any of the carriers involved. Customers may see their outbound calls display as 'Spam,' 'Spam Likely,' 'Scam Likely,' etc., to recipients in their caller ID. Calls may even be blocked all together.
Why does spam flagging or call blocking exist:
Spam flagging aims to protect consumers against:
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Robocalling: high-volume, short-duration calls originating from a single number
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Illegal Calls
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Unwanted Calls
As such, regulators and major phone carriers have implemented protective actions by requiring phone companies to implement caller ID authentication to help reduce the occurrence of robocalling, illegal calls, and unwanted calls.
Sources of spam flagging & call blocking
Some reasons your number could be blocked or flagged as spam are:
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Flagging by a consumer:
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Consumers are able to complain to their carrier and flag any number they deem is suspicious, spam, or spoofing their number
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Consumers can install apps to block or display spam callers (apps include: Nomorobo, Robokiller, etc)
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Consumers can block calls from any number that does not appear on their contact list or other ‘allow list’
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Flagging by receiving carrier (or in rare cases your own):
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Carriers can block or flag specific numbers as spam based on certain call analytics
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Spam detection: How is spam identified by consumers?
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Most phone devices have embedded systems that are used to filter or flag incoming calls based on information held in their own databases. Some examples include: Truecaller, which is commonly used on Android and iOS devices, as well as Nomorobo, Whoscall, Showcaller, Hiya, etc.
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Consumers can manually install apps to view flagged numbers as spam
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Consumers have access to public complaint data (Truecaller, Hiya, Whoscall, Robokiller, Youmail, CallApp)
How Aircall can help:
It’s a common challenge in VOIP that businesses are mislabelled as 'spam' or 'spam likely,' however, there is no central repository or database to question or review spam markers.
The options available are to:
- Register end-user or company details with specific services to prove the legitimacy of businesses when a call appears.
- Adopt behavior that will prevent spam flagging.
It’s important to understand that Aircall has no control over removal from spam lists, however we can provide recommendations to improve pick up rate or provide alternative courses of action.
Best Practices when calling:
Behaviors that may increase spam flagging:
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High volume (companies that make over 20,000 calls per month are generally labeled high volume and may be flagged automatically)
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Short calls (under 50 seconds)
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High volume of unanswered calls
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Sending pre-recorded messages
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Automatic dialing
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Phone calls are not returned when missed.
Best practices:
Reduce call volume per number
- Split your call volume between 2 or 3 different numbers if you are making a large number of calls.
- Avoid calling the same number multiple times on the same day.
Reduce short calls from the same number
- Leave a voicemail explaining the reason for your call.
- Avoid calls that are likely to result in an immediate hang-up.
Reduce unanswered calls and increase your call-back rate
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Consider carefully the time of day you’re calling the customer.
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Leave your contact details over voicemail and let them know who you are and why you were calling them.
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Avoid calling people who are in the National Do Not Call Registry (for example in the US: https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/profile/Create.aspx).
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Prioritize calling qualified leads or people that have opted into receiving communications from you.
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Set up a personalized welcome message so that as your call is returned it’s clear who they are going to speak with and why you might be contacting them.
Register your numbers with specific services
All major carriers actively work with the following services to remove SPAM markers, as well as associate your business with your lines. Registering with these services will increase your numbers' reputation as well as ensure each carrier's records are up to date. These services are also the ones who flag "possible SPAM" calls and are not always up to date:
Helpful Links:
US: Federal Communications Commission -Stop unwanted Robocalls and Texts
UK: Ofcom: Unwanted calls and messages
EU: Protecting Privacy and fighting spam
US numbers may be registered with Free Caller Registry to help support their reputation.