Spam Likely vs Scam Likely: what's the difference?
Spam Likely warns that a call is probably unwanted, while Scam Likely warns that it may be a fraud attempt; both are caller ID labels set by carriers and their analytics partners, with wording that varies by carrier. For a business, either label costs pickups, and Scam Likely also tells the prospect you might be trying to cheat them.
| Spam Likely | Scam Likely | |
|---|---|---|
| What it suggests | The call is probably unwanted | The call may be a fraud attempt |
| Who sets it | Carriers and their analytics partners | Carriers and their analytics partners |
| Is it a block? | No: the call rings with a warning | No: the call rings with a warning |
| Can the caller see it? | No | No |
| What it does to a sales call | Fewer people answer | Fewer people answer, and the warning reflects on your company |
What each label means
Spam Likely says the call is probably unwanted: the kind of calling people tend to ignore, from robocalls to high-volume sales calls. Scam Likely says more: that the caller may be trying to defraud the person.
Both are forms of call labeling. Carriers and their analytics partners decide which label a call gets, and some call-screening apps add their own. The wording isn't standard, so you may also see Potential Spam or something similar on some phones.
Why a real business can get either one
Both labels judge patterns and reports, not intent, so a legitimate company can get either. A number that places a lot of calls to people who don't know it, or that people hang up on and report, can be labeled.
Scam Likely on a real business number has one more possible cause: someone may be faking your number on their own calls, so the reports from their calls land on yours. If people call back about calls you never made, that's a sign. See caller ID spoofing and the glossary entry on Scam Likely.
Which one hurts more
Scam Likely, for a business. Both cost pickups, because people are less likely to answer a call with a warning on it. But Scam Likely also tells the prospect that the caller might be a fraud, and that impression attaches to your company, not just to one call.
For a sales team, either label is easy to miss: the call still rings and the rep hears nothing unusual. The first sign is usually a drop in pickups on one number.
What to do about either label
The steps are the same for both, with one addition for Scam Likely:
- Find out which numbers and which networks show the label.
- Spread outbound calling across several numbers instead of one.
- Call people with a reason to hear from you, and stop calling anyone who asks.
- Take a labeled number out of outbound calling instead of pushing more calls through it.
- For Scam Likely, check whether your number is being spoofed.
The full answer is on how to remove Spam Likely.
What Personnect does
No one can guarantee a number is never labeled; labels are set by carriers and their analytics partners. What Personnect does for the numbers your team calls from:
- Numbers registered in your company's name with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
- New numbers are eased in, calls are spread evenly across your numbers, and flagged numbers are rested until they're clean, automatically.
- Personnect calls each contact from a local number in their own area code.
More on the main Spam Likely page.
Questions, answered
Is Scam Likely worse than Spam Likely?
For a business, yes. Both cost pickups, but Scam Likely suggests the call may be fraud, which reflects on your company and not just on the call.
Why does my business number show Scam Likely?
The same patterns that lead to Spam Likely can lead to it, and there's one more possible cause: someone faking your number on their own calls, so their reports land on your number.
Do all carriers use the same labels?
No. Each carrier and app chooses its own wording and judges numbers on its own, so the same number can show different labels, or none, on different phones.