Checking the number is worth doing, but it can only ever give you a probability. Scammers change numbers constantly and can make a call display a genuine one. So we suggest two kinds of check: three quick ones on the number, and one on what the caller actually wants, which is the check that never fails.

Check 1: reports from other people

Search the full number on Who Rang. Scam campaigns ring thousands of people in a short time, and some of them describe the call: a fake bank fraud team, a parcel fee, an "unpaid tax" recording. Several reports describing the same script is the strongest signal a lookup can give. No reports doesn't mean safe - new numbers appear every day.

Check 2: does the number fit the caller?

  • A "bank" calling from an ordinary mobile number is a red flag.
  • A UK organisation calling from an international number (+ followed by a foreign code) is a red flag.
  • A number from a range that was never allocated to any UK provider suggests the caller ID was faked. Who Rang shows this for UK numbers using Ofcom's numbering data.
  • A familiar company number is not proof - it can be spoofed.

Check 3: search the number in quotes

Search "07700 900123" with and without spaces. A match on the organisation's official website is reassuring, but only for calls that don't ask for anything sensitive.

Check 4: the call itself

This is the check we rank first. Scam calls follow patterns that don't depend on the number:

  1. Urgency: act now, before you can think or check.
  2. Secrecy: don't tell the branch, your family or the police.
  3. A request for a code sent by text, a PIN or a password.
  4. Pressure to move money, pay by unusual methods or install an app.
  5. Resistance when you say you'll call back on the official number.

Any one of those is enough to hang up. A genuine organisation never minds you calling back on a number you found yourself - for banks, that's 159.

If it turns out to be a scammer

Report the number to your mobile network by texting "call" to 7726, add a report on Who Rang, and block it. If you lost money or gave details, contact your bank immediately and report it to Report Fraud, or Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.

For why a perfectly genuine-looking number can still be a scam, read our guide to caller ID spoofing in the UK. To see which numbers people are checking right now, visit the most searched numbers.