Who Called Me, a leading free reverse phone lookup service, has shared urgent advice on dealing with nuisance callers after a recent study found that 16% of UK consumers reported financial losses due to phone scams in the past year.
The Hiya study revealed that those affected lost an average of £632, prompting industry leaders to advise the public to be extra cautious when answering calls from unknown or private numbers.
Who Called enables users to search for phone numbers that have contacted them, identifying suspected scam callers through reports from others who have received similar calls. The service can reveal the caller’s identity and location, aiding users in deciding whether to answer future calls.
Calls are categorised using a colour-coded system: red marks dangerous numbers, orange indicates harassment, grey denotes unknown, blue is neutral, and green signifies safe.
Yasin Kultur at Who Called commented: “We receive reports from different individuals daily about numbers they do not recognise, and we give them a rating indicating whether the call is dangerous, harassing, unknown, neutral, or safe. This proven method uses data from real experiences to help check a number.”
“With phone scams now reaching unprecedented levels, it is more important than ever for the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious calls they receive to help alert others to potential threats.”
Yasin Kultur also noted that most fraud and scam payments occur when individuals return a missed call from an unknown, unrecognised number. Scammers typically hang up before the call is answered, encouraging a return call to a premium rate number.
Yasin added: “There will always be scams and fraudulent activities targeting innocent people, but by sharing our experiences with numbers that have called or texted us, we can help each other and make the situation safer for everyone. No one deserves to be scammed or suffer unfair losses.”
For more information on how to protect yourself from nuisance callers, visit whocalled.co.uk.
