The ability to connect with customers is critical for the effectiveness of your contact center. However, with the rise in spam and robocalls, telecom companies frequently mislabel legitimate business calls as potential spam, making it harder for your contact center agents to reach customers and prospects. The efforts of telecom companies to combat spam and robocalls are essential. However, when your number is flagged as Potential Spam or Scam Likely on caller ID, it reduces answer rates, disrupts operations, and damages your reputation. Fortunately, you can address and prevent these issues by implementing best practices and leveraging phone number reputation tools.
The Challenge of Dealing with Spam Calls
Spam calls, robocalls, and spoofed calls present big challenges for businesses striving to maintain effective communication. Outbound calls tagged as potential spam or fraud are rarely answered, making it difficult for agents to connect with customers. This problem is compounded by call spoofing, where scammers misuse legitimate business numbers for fraudulent activities, which may lead to those numbers being reported, damaging their reputation scores. Disgruntled customers, misdials, and even a single negative report through spam-reporting apps can severely impair a phone number’s reputation.
Managing and monitoring the reputation of multiple business numbers across different carriers and call-blocking platforms is an ongoing and complex task. When reputation scores drop, businesses face reduced call answer rates and a loss of trust, making it harder to engage with customers. As spam filtering systems grow more stringent to combat telephony abuse, the increase in phone numbers marked as spam underscores the need for businesses to actively safeguard their phone number reputations.
Why Is a Phone Number Marked as Spam?
There are several reasons why a business phone number might be flagged as spam, even when the business operates legitimately. Understanding these causes can help organizations take proactive steps to protect their reputation.
- High Call Volumes Making a large number of outbound calls, particularly in a short timeframe, can make your number appear suspicious. This is especially true if many of the calls go unanswered or if the recipients are not expecting the call.
- Customer Complaints When recipients feel that calls are intrusive, irrelevant, or too frequent, they may report them as spam through apps provided by carriers or third parties. A growing number of complaints can harm your number’s reputation and lead to flagging.
- Spoofing Scammers sometimes use legitimate business numbers to carry out their schemes, such as fraudulent robocalls or phishing attempts. Even though the business isn’t at fault, the misuse can result in the number being flagged.
- Inconsistent Caller ID Calls with unclear, generic, or incorrect caller ID information are less likely to be trusted. Recipients may be hesitant to answer, and filtering systems may flag the calls as suspicious.
- Robocall-Like Patterns Behaviors such as short call durations, repeated calls to the same numbers, or unusual patterns in call frequency can mimic robocall activity. These patterns are often detected by analytics systems and may lead to a phone number marked as spam.
The Impact for Businesses When Phone Numbers Are Marked as Spam
When you have a phone Number Flagged as Spam, the consequences can be significant and far-reaching, affecting your operations, reputation, and ability to connect with customers effectively.
- Fewer Calls Answered When calls are labeled as spam or fraud, recipients are much less likely to pick up. This makes it difficult to reach customers, whether for sales, support, or urgent notifications, severely limiting communication efforts.
- Lost Sales Missed connections due to spam labeling can result in lost revenue opportunities. Potential leads may never engage, and existing deals may be delayed or fall through entirely, directly impacting the business's bottom line.
- Frustrated Customers When important support calls fail to reach their intended recipients, customers are left feeling ignored or undervalued. This can lead to frustration and a decline in customer satisfaction, making it harder to build long-term loyalty.
- Damaged Reputation A spam label creates the impression that your business is untrustworthy or engaged in unethical practices. Even if the label is unjustified, it can harm how customers and partners perceive your organization and potentially send them to your competitors.
- Higher Costs Resolving spam flags can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive task, requiring staff efforts or third-party tools. Additionally, businesses may need to rely on alternative communication methods, like email or SMS, which can be more expensive and less effective for certain purposes.
- Operational Disruptions Delayed or failed communication caused by spam labeling can slow down internal processes and customer service operations. This impacts overall efficiency and erodes trust in the company’s ability to deliver timely service.
Preventing Phone Numbers from Being Marked as Spam
Preventing your business phone numbers from being flagged as spam requires consistent practices and proactive phone number management.
- Authenticate Your Calls Implement call authentication tools to ensure your calls are verified as legitimate. Authentication helps carriers and analytics systems recognize your number, reducing the likelihood of mislabeling.
- Monitor Your Reputation Regularly track your phone number’s reputation using monitoring tools. Early detection of issues allows you to address them before they escalate, ensuring your number remains trusted.
- Use Clear Caller ID Positive Caller ID Reputation can help prevent numbers from being marked as spam. Including your business name and recognizable details builds trust with recipients and improves the chances of your calls being answered.
- Call Responsibly Avoid over-calling or contacting people who have not explicitly agreed to receive your calls. Following regulations and respecting customer preferences reduces complaints and helps maintain your number’s credibility.
- Protect Against Spoofing Implement anti-spoofing technologies to prevent fraudsters from misusing your number in scams or spam schemes. This technology ensures your number isn’t falsely associated with malicious activity.
How to Fix Phone Numbers Marked as Spam
When you have a business phone number marked as spam, prompt action is essential to restore its reputation and maintain effective communication.
- Contact Your Carrier Get in touch with your phone service provider to dispute the spam label. You’ll likely need to provide documentation like call logs or evidence of legitimate use to support your case. Many carriers have established processes for reviewing and correcting false flags.
- Use Reputation Tools Deploy reputation management tools to monitor your phone number’s status and repair any damage to its reputation. These tools provide visibility into how your number is perceived and offer strategies to address negative flags.
Solutions for Call Security, Trust, and Authentication from SecureLogix
SecureLogix is an industry leader in call security, call branding, and call authentication solutions. From protecting against contact center fraud, robocalls, and vishing scams to managing call number reputation and providing branded caller ID, we offer solutions that help businesses reduce costs, heighten security, maximize revenue, and restore trust.
SecureLogix Reputation Defense™ Call Number Management Service
Reputation Defense™ cleans and restores the positive reputation scores for your corporate calling numbers by removing negative labels from phone numbers marked as spam or fraud. Working with wireless carriers and analytics vendors, this SecureLogix offering provides a recurring solution for registering, vetting, and maintaining healthy scores associated with your numbers. With low-friction activation and rapid onboarding, SecureLogix Reputation Defense™ offers a fast resolution for phone numbers marked as spam.
Key Features
- Rigorous phone number management and monitoring to prevent fraudulent use of your corporate calling numbers
- Low-friction activation with number aggregation registration of all corporate phone numbers across multiple service providers
- Integration with outbound call spoofing protection for continuous monitoring and proactive protection from fraudulent activities
- Full reporting, analytics, and service team support
Additional Call Trust Services
In addition to Reputation Defense™, SecureLogix offers solutions for improving call trust and call center answer rates:
- SecureLogix TrueCall™ Spoofing Protection Service Identifies and blocks spoofed calls attempting to impersonate your brand by using your corporate calling numbers.
- SecureLogix® Contact™ Call Branding Service Increases call answer rates by offering branded caller ID services with rich call display showing your business name, logo, reason for the call, and other trust verifications on recipients’ phones.
FAQ
Q: What causes a number to be flagged as spam?
A phone number can be flagged as spam for several reasons. High call volumes, especially to numbers that don’t answer or haven’t consented to receive calls, can raise red flags. Customer complaints labeling your calls as spam also contribute significantly to the issue. Additionally, scammers using your number for spoofing can result in it being flagged, even if you are not at fault. Vague or inconsistent caller ID information, such as missing or incorrect business names, can further erode trust and lead to spam labeling.
Q: How can I check if my number is flagged?
You can use tools and services, such as SecureLogix’s reputation management solutions, to monitor your phone number’s status and detect if it has been flagged as spam. Many carriers and third-party providers also offer platforms where you can check your number’s reputation and identify potential issues before they escalate.
Q: Can I remove a spam label from my number?
Yes, it is possible to remove a spam label from your number. Start by contacting your phone carrier or the analytics provider responsible for the labeling. Provide evidence, such as call logs or documentation of legitimate business practices, to dispute the label. Reputation management tools, like those from SecureLogix, can help you repair and maintain your number’s credibility by addressing the root causes of the spam flag.
Q: How long does it take to fix a flagged number?
The time required to fix a flagged number varies based on the specific situation. In most cases, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The timeline depends on the complexity of the issue, the responsiveness of the carrier or analytics provider, and the steps needed to demonstrate that your calls are legitimate. Promptly addressing the problem and using reputation management tools can help speed up the process.
Additional Reading