Leading free reverse phone lookup service, Who Called Me, has issued urgent advice on how to handle nuisance callers, following a recent study revealing that 16% of UK consumers reported losing money to a phone scam in the past year.
The study, conducted by Hiya, found that those scammed lost an average of £632, prompting industry leaders to urge the public to be extra cautious when answering calls from unknown or private numbers.
Who Called allows users to search for a phone number that has called them and flags suspected scam callers through reports from others who have received calls from the same number. The service can reveal the caller’s identity and location, helping users decide whether to answer future calls from that number.
Calls are categorised using a colour-coded system: red indicates dangerous numbers, orange signifies harassing, grey represents unknown, blue is neutral, and green means safe.
Yasin Kultur at Who Called said: “We receive reports daily from different individuals who report numbers they do not recognise and provide a rating that indicates whether the call is dangerous, harassing, unknown, neutral, or safe. This proven method allows people to check a number using data from real experiences.”
“With the rise in phone scams reaching unprecedented levels, it is more important than ever for the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious calls they receive, helping to warn others of potential threats.”
Yasin Kultur also noted that most fraudulent activity and scam payments are initiated by callers prompting a return call to an unknown, unrecognised number. Scammers often hang up before the receiver answers, encouraging a return call to a premium rate number.
Yasin added: “There will always be scams and fraudulent activities targeting innocent people, but if we all share our experiences with numbers that have called or texted us, we can help each other and make it safer for everyone. No one deserves to be scammed or suffer losses unfairly.”
For more information on how to protect against nuisance callers, visit whocalled.co.uk.
