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“But It Looks Like A Local Number?”
So you get an incoming call that has a local area code, you answer it and you then hear a recording or a scammy sounding message. You may have just been the victim of phone number spoofing. Phone number spoofing is a very common tactic used by scammers these days.
Modern “spoofed” phone numbers kicked off in the early 2000’s with the widespread adoption of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology that made it much easier to do. Prior to this, in the mid to late 1980’s the rise of personal computers and modems led to new ways of manipulating phone systems for fraudulent purposes to deceive innocent victims.
These days phone number spoofing is primarily done via VoIP which makes it simple for fraudsters to impersonate local numbers, businesses or government agencies to trick people into answering. Then the scam begins!
What Exactly Is Phone Spoofing?
Phone spoofing is like a digital disguise. It’s when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your Caller ID to hide the actual number the call is coming from. This can easily make an anonymous or long distance call look like it is coming from a trusted known local number.
Scammers use a variety of tools that range from easy to use mobile phone apps, right up to professional grade hardware that is purpose built for the task at hand.
As mentioned earlier, these days VoIP is the most common way scammers perform phone spoofing…also commonly known as caller ID masking. There are also websites that provide ID manipulation services to carry out phone call spoofing.
Suspect that you’ve been spoofed? Search the number in our Scam Phone Number Lookup (SPNL) Tool now.
How Phone Spoofing Can Affect The SPNL Results
If you haven’t used our free Cybertrace Scam Phone Number Lookup (SPNL) tool yet, you really should try it out. If you are ever unsure about a phone number, just enter it into the SPNL tool and it will give you a risk rating, and tell you how many times the number has been reported.
However, the risk ratings and results can be affected by phone number spoofing. For example, our data may show a number is linked to a government agency or similar and our risk indicator is low. But, has the number been spoofed? Our data is correct, but people need to stay vigilant and remain cautious at all times.
Why Scammers Use Phone Number Spoofing
Why would scammers want to use phone spoofing you might ask, well there are many reasons…and all of them are for fraudulent purposes. Phone number spoofing increases answer rates due to the fact that people truly believe it is the number that is actually ringing them.
This lowers suspicion and helps to make people believe the scammers are legit, scary hey! This kind of psychological manipulation is what scammers excel at.
Phone spoofing allows fraudsters to impersonate government agencies, banks, telcos and at times even family members. Being able to hide behind the fake caller ID really helps to increase the success rate of scammers taking innocent victims on a ride, and often trying to take their money.
Most people are conditioned to believe a number that shows up on caller ID is what it says it is. Scammers understand this instinct and use it to their advantage.
Phone spoofing also helps to neutralise the suspicion during the interaction with the scammers. When the number and name on the screen matches the story they are being told, most people are less likely to question or notice inconsistencies or strange requests.
Common Types Of Phone Number Spoofing Scams
Phone spoofing covers a number of approaches to different types of scams. These are some of the well known and most common ones, but there are plenty more.
Neighbour Spoofing: Scammers ‘spoof’ your local area code on the number to increase the pick-up rate. You’d be surprised how much extra trust this can build.
Enterprise Spoofing: The fraudsters pose as a trusted brand, government agency, bank, the Tax Agency or other well known official organisations.
Mirroring: Scammers can make it look like your own number is calling, how bizarre right? This certainly induces curiosity mixed with fear, and can make people answer just to see who it is.
The “Double-Tap” (Or Phased) Scam: Scammers now call once, hang up, and call again immediately. Many people are aware that “emergency” callers can ring twice like this – so they are then much more likely to pick up on the second call.
“Missed call” or “Callback” Scams: This scam tricks you into calling back an unknown number.
Fake Charity Spoofing Scams: Scammers will spoof the caller ID of a well known local charity, especially after natural disasters (how low can they go?) to try and convince people to send funds.
AI Voice Spoofing: This scam is very common now, first the number of a known person or organisation is spoofed to fool the person that is called. Then AI driven software is used to map a real person’s voice to the scammers voice so it appears the victim is talking to the real person.
Tech Support Scams: The fraudsters spoof the caller ID of a major tech giant such as Microsoft or Apple and claim your computer has a trojan or has been compromised. They will then try to coerce you into giving them remote access to your machine…then if they get in they will look for banking passwords etc and try to steal your money.
Caller ID’s can certainly be faked, however smart habits will keep you safe. It’s healthy and normal to be sceptical of any unsolicited calls.
How To Spot A Spoofed Phone Call (The Obvious Red Flags)
Have you ever answered a phone call and then heard a few seconds of dead air, then a noticeable ‘click’? This is the sound of an automated dialler registering that a human has answered the call. You’ll then be transferred to a scammer or to another tailored recording designed to trick you into taking some kind of action.
Scammers don’t call to chat, and will use extreme urgency and pressure tactics which are a massive red flag straight away. The goal is to send you into a flight or fight mode as fast as possible, this will make a certain part of your brain shut down – and this makes it more likely that you will follow instructions you normally wouldn’t. Scammers have perfected these techniques of persuasion over many years.
One obvious red flag with spoofed phone calls these days is the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) code scam. A fraudster might call you from a spoofed telephone number that appears to be your bank and tells you they’ve sent a verification code to ‘verify your identity’.
What is actually happening is that they are trying to log into your online banking account at that moment and need the 2FA code to gain access to it. Banks will never ask you for a secure code over the phone.
If a caller gets to a point where they start asking you to use unusual payment methods like wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency you can guarantee that it is a scam. Huge red flags raised here! These three methods make money very hard to trace, no wonder they are the fraudster’s favourites…
How To Protect Yourself From Phone Spoofing
After reading all of this are you wondering how you can protect yourself from Phone Spoofing scams? Here’s a few tips to keep you and your loved ones safe from the caller id masking scammers.
- If you don’t recognise the number, simply don’t answer it. Let it go to voicemail, that’s if they even leave a message.
- If you get a call and they claim to be your bank or another trusted organisation, hang up and call the official number for that organisation.
- Most modern smart phones will have a feature that lets you block unknown numbers. There are also third party apps for phones that do this too.
- Create a safe word with your family members, a secret word phrase. In the event that a spoofed call comes in from a family member that is asking for money – simply ask them what the safe word is. Game over scammers!
- When you get an obvious spoofed call from scammers, please report the number. Doing this helps to prevent more people from getting scammed. Simply enter the number into our Cybertrace Scam Phone Number Lookup (SPNL) tool, then click on the red Report Number button. Make a note in the comments that this number was spoofed.
What To Do If You’ve Already Been Scammed
- Contact your bank immediately if you provided any financial details, or if you can see a transfer that wasn’t you. The majority of major banks have a hotline specifically for scams and fraud.
- Report it to Cybertrace to investigate, simply contact us here and one of our team can asses your case.
- Report it to Scamwatch which is run by the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). This will help the ACCC to track “spoofing surges”.
- Contact IDCARE, this is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service. In the event that your Driver’s License, Passport or Tax File Number (TFN) were compromised, IDCARE will assign you a case manager to help you protect your identity.
- Report the Cybercrime to the ASD, which is the Australian Signals Directorate. They manage the ReportCyber portal.
- Ensure your myGov and ATO accounts are secure. Phone spoofing scammers can try to lodge tax returns in your name. You should login to your myGov account and double check there are no linked services you don’t recognise.
Can Phone Number Spoofing Be Stopped?
If we have the technology to land rovers on Mars, why can’t we stop fraudsters pretending to be Telstra? Surely there must be a way? The reality is that much of the global phone network was built decades ago, well before the kind of fraud we see today even existed. These legacy systems, combined with cross border loopholes and newer technologies added into the mix continue to allow scammers to operate.
There is a technology called STIR/SHAKEN which is like a digital passport or handshake used to verify calls.
https://carrierservices.sangoma.com/stir-shaken/
When a phone call is made, the carrier “signs” it with a certificate that verifies the caller is who they say they are. The limitation of this is that every carrier the call passes through must support the technology. It is slowly starting to become standard in the USA, however, global adoption is fragmented.
In Australia, local telcos and the ACMA are working on a similar system…but it is a massive undertaking to upgrade every piece of equipment in the country. Just have a think about how the NBN rollout took!
In Australia the AMCA has introduced strict new codes that require telecommunications companies to actively monitor their networks for scam activity and block them at the source.
Additionally, by July 2026 Australia is launching a compulsory register for branded SMS caller IDs. If the text says it’s from myGov or Telstra but the number isn’t on the official register it will be blocked and marked as “Unverified”. This is a big step forward in the war against phone number spoofing.
Conclusion: The Power Of The Pause
At the end of the day, phone spoofing is a game of numbers. The caller ID spoofers make thousands of calls every minute, just looking for someone who will engage and then be manipulated.
As long as we are using mobile phones in the format that we know now, phone spoofing might not be able to be stopped completely.
However, we can stop the call from ever getting answered.
The most effective tool we have is ourselves – being wary of unknown numbers and questioning the caller ID. Are you expecting a call? Does the Caller ID seem right? Can you safely ignore it then see if they actually leave a message? Spoofing only works if you answer the call. It pays to be sceptical of unknown numbers (this goes without saying), and any kind of unsolicited calls. Pause and think before you answer.
Remember, stay vigilant. Don’t share your personal information with anyone you don’t know. And try to remember that just because a caller ID says it is someone you know or a familiar organisation – it might not be. Also, remember to check out our our free Cybertrace Scam Phone Number Lookup (SPNL) if you haven’t already.
Feel free to tell us your story in the comments section below if you have been the victim of a phone number spoofing scam.
