Phone number scoring is a process that assigns a score to a phone number, providing information on the quality of the phone number’s reputation. This information can help you better identify who’s worth calling. It also can be useful in helping you cut down on wasted time. You can use this data to better meet your business goals.

With the rise of digital services, the limitations of traditional phone intelligence data have become clear. As a result, third-party tools have been created to help businesses recognize and identify suspicious numbers. Using this type of data can reduce fraudulent activity by as much as 40%. By understanding how the phone number marking system works, you can better understand how to build a strategy to prevent fraudulent calls.

The major carriers have been cracking down on robocalls and spam telemarketing. However, phone number scoring they have not yet come up with a way to stop these types of calls entirely. In addition to limiting the amount of caller ID spoofing, the carriers are analyzing the behavior of phone numbers in order to better identify suspicious behavior. These tools include reverse phone lookups and a phone number score.

Reverse phone lookups can detect fake or disposable numbers. For example, a VOIP phone number is more likely to be fraudulent than a landline or wireless number. Other numbers that are associated with fraudulent behavior are high risk numbers.

Using a phone number score can improve your user experience by identifying and weeding out the most suspicious calls. You can also use this data to protect your website from fraudulent payments. When you receive a suspicious call, you should avoid answering or responding to it. Instead, you can ask the caller to save their number. Your company can then contact them directly to discuss the issue.

A phone number score can also provide a centralized location to view important data about a particular number. Including the telecom carrier of record, line type, and payment quality, it can give you a comprehensive view of a particular number’s reputation.

In order to develop a reliable phone number score, you’ll need tons of data. For example, the number’s country, prepaid plan, and port status can all affect its overall risk score. Likewise, a number with a high risk score is associated with suspicious activities, such as a recent rash of complaints, a plethora of searches, or a high volume of calls.

To assess a number, you can either make several test calls to it or contact the telephone carrier. Depending on the carrier, the number may be displayed as “Potentially Spam,” “Valid,” or “Not Valid.” If you get the number through just fine, it’s a good sign. But if you’re greeted by an admonishment to not answer the call, you should err on the side of caution.

If you need to evaluate a phone number, you can call Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, or T-Mobile. Regardless of the phone carrier, a number’s reputation can be easily analyzed.