Follow the Money
A Reported Number Just Called You. What Now?
Video · 1:47 · Watch on YouTube
A number you don't know just called. You looked it up, and other people have reported it to the FTC. Here are six steps, each from the Federal Trade Commission's consumer guidance, and what a report does and doesn't mean.
Look up any number, free: https://undercurrentdaily.com/numbers/
What to do
1. Hang up, and don't press any keys. Pressing numbers "will probably only lead to more robocalls." (FTC)
2. Don't give or confirm personal or financial information. Honest organizations won't call to ask for your Social Security, bank or card numbers. (FTC)
3. If the caller claims to be a company or an agency, look up the real number yourself and call that. Not the number they gave you, and not the one on your caller ID. (FTC)
4. Never pay anyone who insists on a gift card, a wire transfer, cryptocurrency or a payment app. (FTC)
5. Block the number, and ask your phone company what call blocking it offers. Some services are free. (FTC)
6. Report the call at https://www.donotcall.gov. If you lost money or shared information, use https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.
What a report means
- A report is a complaint a consumer filed with the FTC's Do Not Call system. The FTC says none of the information about the reported calls is verified.
- Caller ID is easy to fake, so the number on your screen may not belong to whoever called. A report is a reason to be careful, not proof of who called.
- In the FTC's data for Aug. 30 to Sept. 28, 2026, about 93 of every 100 reported numbers (189,925 of 204,659) were reported just once. That is our count from the FTC's public files.
Chapters
Sources
- FTC, Robocallsconsumer.ftc.gov/articles/robocalls
- FTC, Phone Scamsconsumer.ftc.gov/articles/phone-scams
- FTC, How To Avoid a Scamconsumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam
- FTC, How To Block Unwanted Callsconsumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-block-unwanted-calls
- FTC, Do Not Call reported-calls dataftc.gov/policy-notices/open-government/data-sets/do-not-call-data
This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
More scam alerts for older adults and their families: https://www.keepupacademy.com/scam-alerts/ (KeepUp Academy is a sister project from the team behind Undercurrent.)
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