Don’t let your calls get flagged as “Potential Spam” or “Scam Likely”

Making phone calls to prospective donors and supporters is an integral part of most campaigns. Getting folks to pick up the phone is often a challenge, so the last thing you want is to have your calls automatically labeled on a recipient’s Caller ID as a potential spam or scam call. This article discusses this growing phenomenon and some steps to avoid letting it happen to you. (Click here to read more about how you can also address software sending some calls straight to voicemail.)

Why would my calls be labeled as “Potential Spam” or “Scam Likely” or with some other negative flag?

Over the last several years, many apps have been developed to allow consumers to identify and/or block potentially unwanted incoming calls. But since 2019, the major telephone carriers have also developed their own systems to automatically protect all of their customers without the need to sign up for a special program or download a particular software. As a consequence, more people than ever are receiving notifications on their phones that accompany incoming calls from unknown numbers, warning them that they should be wary of answering.

For these carrier-wide consumer protections, the decisions about whether and how to display an incoming call as potentially problematic is up to the recipient’s carrier — and each carrier has their own approach. That means you could use the same phone number to call two different people on two different carriers, and one could see your number appear normally while the other could be warned that your call is “Potential Spam,” for example.

So how are they deciding which incoming numbers to flag? The precise formula each uses is not something they spell out publicly in great detail. However, there are some variables that are believed to be factors:

• The number of calls per hour and/or number of calls per day that are being made by a single number
• The rate of successful connections
• Whether or not (and how often) recipients of calls from that number have actually reported the number as spam or as being used as part of a scam

What can I do to improve and maintain a positive “phone number reputation”?

Given the above, there are several things you can be doing to place calls in a responsible way that avoids any carrier attaching a stigma to your number:

Make sure you’re placing calls to a mix of cold and warm prospects from the same line. The colder the outreach, the less likely you will get your call answered the first (or third!) time, so using a particular number to only call new prospects could lead to suspiciously low connect rates. So don’t forget to incorporate plenty of warmer calls each day and week, which are more likely to answer and will help keep your overall rate of successful connections up. Using smart software can help you keep track of this.

Use a few different numbers. By alternating between a few numbers throughout the day’s calls, you’ll reduce the rate of calls per hour and calls per day being placed from a single number. You’ll also likely want to use the candidate’s own personal phone number only for the warmest of leads and/or existing relationships and supporters. Since the candidate presumably wishes to keep that number well beyond the end of the campaign, it is worth taking extra precautions to preserve the reputation of that number.

Be thoughtful about how you approach brand new prospects. If you approach new prospects in a spammy way… they may very well flag you as spam. Especially for colder, newer prospects it is important to take a more careful approach than just calling incessantly until they pick up. For example:

• Consider sending a personalized email ahead of your call, giving them some overview of your campaign and alerting them that you will try and get them on the phone soon. (Pro Tip: Make sure your phone number is included in the email, as some phones will scan a user’s email to try and display the name of an incoming caller — much better than being identified as a potential scam!)
• Make sure you’ve done your research and can make voicemails and email follow ups as personal as possible. In fact, voicemails and follow-up, in general, are good defenses against being flagged as spam. Even if the recipient ultimately decides he/she doesn’t want to hear from you, they are much less likely to jump to reporting your number if you have always been transparent about who you are, and why you are calling — as opposed to just ringing their phone again and again until they pick up.
• Leverage your existing network of supporters to help make warm introductions.

Reach out to telephone carriers if they are mislabeling your number. Because most carriers are managing these systems independently, each will have a different process (if any) for a legitimate organization to petition to have their phone number proactively verified and/or to address an erroneously labeled or blocked number. T-Mobile, for example, has partnered with First Orion to both help them screen fraudulent calls, as well as to maintain a registry of legitimate organizations and the numbers they use, to avoid mislabeling on T-Mobile customers’ phones. So you may want to reach out to the major carriers to learn more about their particular systems, how you can avoid being mislabeled, and what recourse you may have if your number ends up misidentified.

The definition of spam: irrelevant or inappropriate messages

Remember: the best way to avoid getting caught in a spam filter, is to avoid behaving in a spammy way! It sounds obvious enough, but as technology evolves to better protect consumers from nuisances, it is a good reminder to evaluate your audience, your method, and your message.

As we’ve discussed in prior articles, being intentional about how you grow your universe of new prospects, having a system for tracking and managing your cadence and means of outreach, and reaching prospects with a highly relevant and appropriate (see spam definition, above) message, are all key to treating the recipients of your outreach with respect. It will mean fewer spam/scam flags… and it will also yield more dollars.