It can be challenging to find out who owns a phone number, especially when someone is trying to conceal their identity with VoIP numbers or burner phone numbers – not to mention spoofing numbers commonly used by scammers.
Fortunately, there are some ways to verify the authenticity of a phone number and protect yourself. In this article, we will discuss how to check if a phone number is real.
1. Direct Verification with the Company/Individual
Scammers often use phone spoofing tactics to mask their real number and replace it with one that’s trusted by the people they’re targeting. For example, they may pretend to be the bank1, sending fake emergencies such as unusual account activity, to pressure you into clicking links and disclosing sensitive information. In another case, victims received fake emergencies from their contacts2, asking for money.
To avoid falling victim to such scams and to find out if the phone number is real, it’s important that you independently verify the legitimacy of the caller. For instance, if the caller claims to be from your bank, contact the bank through their official contact channels – not any numbers provided to you. The bank support team can check their records to confirm any unusual account activity with your account and if the link provided belongs to the company.
If someone calls or texts you claiming to be a family member or close friend and asks for money, resist the pressure and tell them you’ll call them back. Later, ask someone else to call the family member or friend and confirm if they’re really in trouble.
2. Use a Reverse Phone Lookup
If you receive calls or texts from an unfamiliar phone number and want to verify the identity of the person, you can use a reverse phone lookup tool to learn more information about the owner.
You can use Truecaller – a free and powerful reverse phone number lookup service with over 374 million users worldwide. Simply enter the phone number into the search bar and sign into the service using your Google or Microsoft account. The service will provide you with information about the owner of the phone number, including their name, address, and carrier.
However, as mentioned previously, scammers can use apps to appear as trusted numbers. Even if you find information about the caller through this app, it’s important that you verify the caller’s credibility before taking further action, especially if they’re requesting money.
3. Contact The Carrier
While reverse phone lookups can search for information associated with landlines or cell phone numbers, some people choose to remove their information from such services. Additionally, these services generally do not provide information about VoIP or burner numbers, which can be easily registered using fake names and IP addresses.
So it’s likely that you won’t be able to find information about the owner of that phone number through a reverse phone lookup tool. If you have a legitimate reason – say you suspect fraudulent activity, contact the carrier to inquire if they can provide information about the person behind the number.
You can use Phone Validator to determine which phone company owns that particular number. After identifying the company, search for the company’s support team online to see if they can assist you.
4. Use Search Engines
Search engines can also be used to verify a phone number. Many people share their experiences with scam calls and post scam numbers online. If a phone number has been posted in a discussion, a simple Google search is likely to bring up the page.
Hopefully, this post helped you determine whether a phone number is real or fake. Stay safe and happy searching!
- McNicholas, T., & Randolph, W. S. (2024, February 5). CBS New York Investigates “spoofing” scams after nurse loses life savings. CBS New York. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/cbs-new-york-investigates-spoofing-scams-after-nurse-loses-life-savings/ ↩︎
- ThePurplePickles. (2023, June 10). Scam Call from a Spoofed Number Saying they Had a Relative. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/145qnaf/scam_call_from_a_spoofed_number_saying_they_had_a/ ↩︎
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