May 8, 2019
Telltale Signs that Give Away a Spam Caller
Spam calls are a huge problem today. Small businesses that rely on sales calls find themselves competing with spammers. This results in lower pick up rates, fewer sales, and unwarranted complaints.
The federal government is now involved due to the overwhelming amount of spam calls. If your calls are spammy enough you could be reported to the Federal Trade Commission. This leads to even bigger problems down the line.
4 Telltale Signs of a Spam Call
The good news is that if you know the telltale signs of a spam caller, you can update your practices so people won’t flag your number. Here are some of the most common mistakes telemarketers make that could get them labeled as spam.
1. The call comes from a blocked, private, or restricted ID.
While there are sometimes legitimate reasons for someone to block their caller ID, fewer and fewer people trust blocked caller IDs. Often, shady telemarketers, spammers, and scammers block their caller ID so that the call recipient won’t know who they are before they pick up.
Spam-savvy recipients have resolved this problem by refusing to pick up if the call comes from a restricted number. They let these calls go to voicemail, reasoning that if the call is important, the caller will leave a voicemail message. Afterward, they’ll screen the message and delete any automated or sales calls.
2. The caller uses a number-spoofer that matches the recipient’s exchange.
Some spam callers use technology to make the caller ID display a number similar to the recipient’s number. For example, if the recipient’s number is 123-333-4455, the caller’s number will appear as 123-333-6667.
They hope to make it look like the call is from a friend or family member by matching the recipient’s phone number. But most people identify this kind of trick as spam right away. They won’t pick up if they don’t recognize the number. They might avoid any future calls coming from similar numbers as well. Using a number-spoofer usually has the opposite effect of what’s intended: fewer people pick up, not more. This may result in someone reporting your business as spam so it’s best to avoid this practice.
3. The caller makes it seem like there’s an urgent need to give them personal or payment information.
People don’t like when you pressure them to buy products or make payments over the telephone. Nowadays, there is another reason stay aware of this: spammers love to apply pressure so that they can separate callers from their money.
Several recent scams made people suspicious and more likely to hang up. They might even report a caller to the FTC for spam if the caller is too quick to ask for personal or payment information.
Every year at tax time, scammers pretend to be IRS agents and call victims. These scammers claim they will arrest the person if they don’t settle their tax bill right away. This scam, and other scams like it, prey on victims’ fears. Many people are afraid of getting in trouble with the IRS or other government agencies. They will do what they are told to avoid supposed legal problems.
Legitimate telemarketers don’t do this, of course. If you pressure the people on your call list to pay you over the telephone, though, you might sound like a scammer. It’s better not to try too hard to make a sale. Don’t bring payment up too early in the conversation. Always give recipients of your calls a number they can call you back at to make a payment to help them feel more comfortable.
4. The caller suggests the recipient can get something for nothing.
It’s normal to offer a free item or service to get people to try your business. It is a legitimate marketing technique but now spammers use it as well.
Many spammers try a variation of a scam where they tell the recipient that they have won a free vacation or another prize. They insist the person must pay processing fees in order to receive it. The idea is for the victim to provide payment info so that the spammer can steal money and/or the person’s account number.
This type of behavior made people suspicious of calls offering them something for free. Similarly, spammers often promise high returns on small investments in order to prey on people’s desire for wealth. Any offers along this line might cause people to quickly brand you as a spammer.
You can’t afford the FTC labeling you a scammer. As a small business owner, you on telemarketing calls to grow your business and the last thing you want is people blocking your number or reporting you to the FTC.
Don’t worry if you’ve made some mistakes, though. Caller ID Reputation scans your numbers to find out if you’ve been flagged or blocked, ensure that spammers aren’t spoofing calls from your number, and switch out bad numbers to keep your reputation intact.
