Why Are My Calls Being Labeled As Spam?

Why Do Phone Numbers Get Labeled? 

After the release of the TRACED Act, phone carriers were required to implement standards for combating robocalling. While this act was intended to protect consumers, in turn, legitimate business calls and be mislabeled as spam, scam, fraud, or a variety of other labels. 

Factors That Cause Phone Numbers to Be Labeled

A high volume of calls on a single phone number
While there is no exact volume of calls that guarantees a phone number will be flagged, generally speaking, the more calls placed on a phone number the more likely that number is to be labeled. 

A good rule of thumb is to make no more than 10 calls per minute, 100 calls per day, or 1000 calls per week on any single DID. If your business needs to make a high volume of calls, increasing the number of DIDs you have on hand and dispersing your calls across them can help prevent labeling. 
 

Consumer reporting on phone numbers. 
In an effort to combat robocalls, carriers crowdsource feedback from consumers on what calls they consider scams, spam, or even nuisances. If enough consumers leave negative feedback about calls from a phone number carriers will often apply labels or in severe cases even block future calls from that phone number. 

To reduce consumer complaints about phone numbers, be sure to leave clear information on who is calling and the purpose of the call. Ensure to follow consumer preference for the time and channel they wish to be contacted on. 


Short duration traffic
When carriers see a large number of calls that are very short in length it can often be a flag that an automated system is making those calls which in turn can result in a label being applied to the phone numbers used. 

There is no exact number that is considered good or bad, however, on average calls lasting at least 50 seconds tend to have a lower chance of being considered short duration. Using technology like "hangup dialers" or not leaving a voicemail can also contribute to short-duration traffic.


Answer seizure ratio 
In conjunction with high call volume, if a large number of calls placed are going unanswered, this can result in labels being applied. Striving for lists that are quality over quantity and following consumer preference is important in maintaining this metric 

Using an automated message to consumers
Text-to-speech-generated messages can be picked up by carriers' content filters and can be a trigger for labeling. When possible try recording messages in your own voice to reduce this factor. 

The number is new or hasn't been used recently 
If you recently purchased a new DID or haven't used one for a while, it is possible it needs to be warmed up. Starting with a small volume of calls and following other best practices can help show carriers this number is now active and in use for ligament purposes 

Number Spoofing
In rare cases, it is possible your number has been spoofed by a malicious actor placing a high volume of calls causing degradation of your number. If you believe someone else is using your number you shouldn't reach out to your phone provider as soon as possible.