If your outbound business calls are showing up on recipients' phones as "Spam Likely," "Scam Likely," "Telemarketer," or "Fraud Risk," you're not alone. This is one of the most common issues we hear from our voice customers, and the good news is there are concrete steps you can take to fix it and prevent it from happening again.
Why Do Legitimate Calls Get Labeled as Spam?
Mobile carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon use automated analytics systems to protect their subscribers from illegal robocalls. When these systems detect calling patterns that resemble fraudulent activity — high call volumes, short call durations, lots of unanswered calls — they may flag the originating number with a spam or scam label.
The problem is that many perfectly legitimate business calls share these same characteristics. Appointment reminders, school notifications, delivery alerts, and outbound sales calls can all look like robocalling campaigns when viewed at the network level. Carrier algorithms are proprietary and not publicly disclosed, so there's no way to know the exact criteria being used — but there are well-established best practices that significantly reduce your risk.
Does This Affect My Caller ID Name (CNAM)?
No. Spam and scam labels are completely separate from your Caller ID Name registration. A spam label does not overwrite or alter your CNAM data. Once the label is removed, your caller ID will display normally again.
That said, having accurate and recognizable CNAM information is still important. When recipients see a business name they recognize, they're far less likely to report the call as spam — and consumer complaints are the single biggest factor driving call labeling decisions.
How to Prevent Your Calls from Being Mislabeled
There's no magic switch that guarantees your number will never be flagged. But combining proper registration with smart calling practices goes a long way.
Register Your Numbers with the Free Caller Registry
The three major U.S. mobile carriers each partner with an analytics company to evaluate inbound calls to their subscribers:
| Carrier | Analytics Partner | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | First Orion | FCRsupport@firstorion.com |
| AT&T | Hiya | freecallerregistry@hiya.com |
| Verizon | TNS | communications@tnsi.com |
These three carriers have jointly created the Free Caller Registry, a single portal where you can register your phone numbers and business information. Submitting your data through this portal shares it with all three carriers and their analytics partners at once — you don't need to register separately with each one.
Registration is voluntary and doesn't guarantee your calls won't be labeled in the future, but it provides the carriers with verified information about your business, which materially reduces your risk. Once you submit your information, the analytics engines will review it and follow up directly. If approved, changes typically take effect within a few business days.
Important: The Free Caller Registry only covers AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Third-party apps like Truecaller, Nomorobo, and RoboKiller maintain their own databases and may need to be addressed separately. The FCC also provides guidance at fcc.gov/call-blocking.
Follow Outbound Calling Best Practices
Consumer complaints are the most impactful data point behind call labeling. If your recipients don't expect your call or don't recognize your number, they're far more likely to report it as spam. Here's how to reduce that risk:
Set Clear Expectations with Recipients
- Get documented consent before placing calls to customers.
- Tell customers when and how often you'll call so they know to expect it.
- Use a consistent outbound number and encourage customers to save it in their contacts.
- Register an accurate CNAM that recipients will recognize.
- Identify yourself immediately at the start of each call or voicemail — state your organization and the reason for calling.
- Provide a clear opt-out method so customers can unsubscribe rather than report your calls as spam to their carrier.
Watch Your Call Patterns
Carrier analytics monitors calling behavior at the network level. Even when your calls are entirely legitimate, certain patterns are more likely to trigger mislabeling:
- Newly assigned phone numbers — New numbers lack call history, and fraudulent callers frequently use or spoof new numbers. Avoid using newly acquired numbers for high-volume calling right away. Gradually build up call history over time.
- Sudden spikes in call volume — Large day-over-day variations in outbound calls from a single number can trigger flags.
- Calls outside business hours — Placing calls late at night or very early in the morning closely matches robocalling patterns.
- Repeated calls to the same number — Frequently dialing the same destination in a short window can be interpreted as harassment or fraud.
- High ratio of short or unanswered calls — If a large percentage of your calls last six seconds or less, go unanswered, or are abandoned, this closely mirrors the profile of illegal robocalling operations.
Carriers don't disclose specific thresholds for these behaviors, and labeling is usually based on a combination of factors rather than any single indicator.
The Role of STIR/SHAKEN
STIR/SHAKEN is the federal framework for caller ID authentication. It allows carriers to verify that a call is actually coming from the number displayed on caller ID and that the caller has a legitimate right to use that number.
As your voice services provider, Zella Technologies signs your outbound calls with STIR/SHAKEN attestation. This signals to receiving carriers that your calls originate from a verified, trusted source. While STIR/SHAKEN alone doesn't prevent spam labeling, it's a significant positive signal in carrier analytics — calls with proper attestation are less likely to be flagged than unsigned or unverified calls.
If you have questions about the attestation level applied to your calls, our support team can help.
How to Remove a Spam or Scam Label
If your calls are already being mislabeled, you can file a label removal request directly with the carrier serving the recipient's device. You'll need to identify which carrier the affected recipient uses, then submit a request through the appropriate portal:
| Carrier | Partner | Label Removal Portal |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T | Hiya | att.com/reviewmycalllabel |
| T-Mobile | First Orion | callreporting.t-mobile.com |
| Verizon | TNS | voicespamfeedback.com |
Response times vary by carrier and may take several business days. Carriers are generally responsive to legitimate business requests that include proper documentation of your business and calling use case.
Quick Reference Checklist
Use this checklist to proactively protect your outbound calling numbers:
- Register all outbound numbers at freecallerregistry.com
- Ensure your CNAM is accurate and recognizable to recipients
- Obtain and document consent before calling customers
- Communicate expected call frequency and timing to customers
- Use consistent outbound numbers and ask customers to save them
- Identify your organization at the start of every call
- Provide an easy opt-out method for recipients
- Avoid sudden spikes in call volume from any single number
- Keep calls within standard business hours
- Monitor your short-call and unanswered-call ratios
- Gradually ramp up volume on newly assigned numbers
Leave a comment!