Phone calls: how to handle a call you didn't expect

Caller ID can show any name or number, including your bank’s or one saved in your contacts. A familiar voice or a caller who knows your address proves nothing either. What works: hang up and dial a number you already have.

If it’s happening now

You hung up and gave them nothing. You’re done. They may call back from a new number. Same move.

Someone you didn’t expect is on the line. Hang up. You don’t need a reason. If it might be real, call back on a number you already have:

• Your bank or card company: the back of the card, or your statement.
• A company you pay: your bill, or its app.
• A government agency: its .gov website, typed in yourself, or our list.
• Family: the number saved in your phone.

Not a number the caller gives you, one from a voicemail or text, or the top of a search. Scammers buy search ads so their numbers show up first.

On a landline, call back from a cell phone or another phone. Some scammers stay on the line after you hang up, so the number you dial can reach them again. No other phone? Wait at least 20 minutes before you dial.

They say not to hang up. Hang up anyway. If there’s a real problem, whoever answers when you call back can see it.

You’re at a bank, an ATM, or a store with them on the line. Hang up before you withdraw, send, or buy anything. Tell the teller or cashier what the caller told you to do.

It’s a recording. Hang up without pressing anything. Pressing 1 puts you through to them. Pressing a number to get off their list will probably just bring more calls.

It sounds like your grandchild, child, or spouse. Hang up and call them on the number saved in your phone. If they don’t answer, call another family member or one of their friends. A voice can be cloned from a short clip posted online. Someone claiming to be family needs money.

They asked you to install something or open a website. Don’t. Hang up.

You already did. They may be connected to your computer. Hold the power button until it turns off, then use another device. Someone is on the line or on my screen right now.

Someone is coming to pick up cash, gold, or your card. Don’t hand anything over. Call 911. No real bank, agency, or company sends a courier for any of these.

What to say

• I'm going to hang up and call back on the number I have.

• I'm hanging up and calling your cell. If it's really you, pick up.

• Someone just called me saying they were from your fraud department. Can you check whether there's really a problem on my account?

If something already left your hands

Money. First call your bank or the company the money went through, on the number on your card or inside its app. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment, and get a case number. If you sent it yourself (Zelle, wire, payment app, gift card, crypto, cash), it may be treated as authorized, and it often isn’t reimbursed. Ask for a recall anyway, and ask for the answer in writing. If they say no, file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Steps by how you paid: card, bank transfer, wire, or Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, or Apple Cash, Western Union or MoneyGram, gift cards, crypto or a Bitcoin ATM, cash, gold, or a card you handed over.

A code from a text. Someone is signing in as you, or approving something, right now. Call that company on a number you have (for a bank, the back of your card) and say a caller got the code. Then change that account’s password from a device you trust.

A password, card number, Social Security number, or Medicare number. I gave out a code, password, or card number.

Control of your computer or phone. Turn it off. From another device, call your bank, then change your email and bank passwords. I let someone control my computer.

Once the calls about money are made, save the call log, voicemails, and receipts (Save evidence without spiraling) and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If money left by wire or crypto, file at ic3.gov at the same time as you call the bank.

Anyone who calls later offering to get your money back for a fee, including someone who says they’re with the FBI, IC3, the FTC, or a law firm, is running a second scam. Someone offers to get my money back.

If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the National Elder Fraud Hotline helps with the reports. It won’t call you first.

What it looks like

10:42 a.m. A local number calls. You pick up and hear a recording.

(480) 555-0129

Incoming call · 10:42 AM

1. Recording Hello, this is Ferncart. We're calling about a suspicious purchase on your account.
2. Recording An Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max for $1,199.00 is scheduled to ship today to an address in Atlanta, Georgia.
3. Recording If you did not make this purchase, press 1 to speak with a Ferncart fraud specialist.
4. Recording To stop receiving these calls, press 2.

You didn't order a phone. What do you do?

• Press 1 to cancel the order before it ships
• Press 2 so they stop calling
• Hang up and check your orders in the Ferncart app

Show the answers

• Wrong move Press 1 to cancel the order before it ships That puts you through to whoever made the call. In the version the FTC describes, the 'specialist' says your identity is being used for fraud and ends by asking you to move your savings.
• Wrong move Press 2 so they stop calling The FTC says pressing a number to get off the list will probably only lead to more robocalls.
• Best move Hang up and check your orders in the Ferncart app If someone really placed an order on your account, it's in the app, and you can cancel it and change your password there. If it isn't there, there's nothing to cancel.

Don't press anything on a recording. Check the account yourself, in the app or on a site you type in.

4:05 p.m. You turned on call screening last week. A number you haven't saved calls. Your iPhone asks who it is, then rings and shows the answer.

(503) 555-0114

Call Screening · 4:05 PM

1. Caller Hi, this is Dana from Fernbrook Family Medicine, calling for Pat Lee.
2. Caller Dr. Shah has to leave early on Thursday, so we need to move your 3:30 appointment. We have 9:15 that morning or Friday at 1. Please pick up or give us a call back.

You do see Dr. Shah on Thursday. What do you do?

• Pick up and choose a new time
• Let it go to voicemail, then call the number on the office's website or your appointment card
• Block it. A real office would call from a number you've saved

Show the answers

• Best move Pick up and choose a new time Moving an appointment costs you nothing. If the call turns to your card number, your Medicare or insurance number, or a code, say you'll call the office back on the number you have.
• Okay Let it go to voicemail, then call the number on the office's website or your appointment card Safe, and it works. It's slower, and the 9:15 may be gone by then.
• Wrong move Block it. A real office would call from a number you've saved Offices often call from a main line or a nurse's desk you've never saved. Blocking it means their next call goes nowhere. Save the number to your contacts instead.

Pick up when the call matches something real and asks for nothing sensitive. Hang up and call back when it asks for money, a code, a password, an account or Medicare number, or access to your screen.

6:05 a.m. Your 8:40 flight home was canceled overnight. You searched for Fernway Airlines' phone number and called the first one on the page.

(720) 555-0163

Outgoing call · 6:05 AM

1. Agent Thank you for calling Fernway Airlines reservations. This is Kevin. How can I help?
2. You My 8:40 to Denver got canceled. Confirmation QX7T4R, last name Lee.
3. Agent I'm sorry about that, Ms. Lee. I see the 8:40 to Denver was canceled. I can put you on the 1:15 this afternoon.
4. Agent Because it's a different fare class, there's a $189 difference. I can take a card now and email your new boarding pass.

You made the call, and he's offering exactly what you need. What do you do?

• Pay the $189. You dialed, so it's the airline
• Hang up and call the number in the Fernway app, or in the confirmation email you got when you booked
• Ask him to email the new itinerary first, then pay

Show the answers

• Wrong move Pay the $189. You dialed, so it's the airline You dialed whoever got their number to the top of the search. The FTC says scammers buy search ads so their fake numbers show up first. Everything he said back to you, you'd just told him.
• Best move Hang up and call the number in the Fernway app, or in the confirmation email you got when you booked That number came from the airline. The app may also let you rebook without calling anyone.
• Wrong move Ask him to email the new itinerary first, then pay Anyone can send an email that looks like an airline's. It doesn't change who ends up with your card number.

Calling back protects you only when the number came from the company: your card, your bill, your booking email, its app, or a site you typed in. The top of a search page can be anyone's ad.

What they’ll ask for

Hear any of these from someone who called you, and the move is the same: hang up and call back on a number you already have.

“Confirm your Social Security number so I can verify you.” Or your account or Medicare number. Don’t give it to someone who called you. If the call was real, they can ask again when you call back.

“Read me the code we just sent you.” Don’t read or forward a code to anyone who contacts you.

“Move your money to a safe account.” No bank protects your money by asking you to move it. Someone says they’re from your bank.

“I’m transferring you to the FTC” (or the FBI, or your bank’s security team). Same scam, second voice.

“Download this app so I can fix it.” AnyDesk, TeamViewer, Quick Assist, or a website they read out to you. It gives them your screen. Hang up.

“If the bank asks, say it’s for a home repair.” Anyone who tells you what to say to your bank is the scam. Tell the teller the truth.

“You missed jury duty. Pay the fine or you’ll be arrested.” Courts don’t demand payment over the phone, and no officer threatens arrest if you hang up. Someone says they’re from the government.

“Buy gift cards.” “Go to a Bitcoin ATM.” “We’ll send someone for the cash.” No real bank, agency, or company asks for any of these.

“Keep this between us.” Tell someone you trust now.

“Grandma, it’s me. Please don’t tell Mom.” Call them on the number in your phone. If your family has a code word, ask for it.

Screen calls before they reach you

Screening asks callers you haven’t saved who they are and why they’re calling, before your phone rings. It tells you what they say, not who they are. Save your doctor’s office and pharmacy so their calls ring straight through. A saved name proves nothing: a call faked from a saved number shows that name and skips the screen.

iPhone. Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers > Ask Reason for Calling. Pick Silence instead to send every unsaved number to voicemail. In the same settings, under Call Filtering, turn on Spam to silence calls your carrier flags as spam or fraud. Don’t see Screen Unknown Callers? Look for Silence Unknown Callers under Phone in Settings instead.

Google Pixel. Phone app > More (three dots) > Settings > Spam and Call Screen (or Call Screen) > Call Screen, and pick a protection level. Back in Settings, turn on Scam Detection (Pixel 6 or newer). It’s off until you turn it on. It warns you during a call that sounds like a scam.

Samsung Galaxy. Phone app > More (three dots) > Settings > Caller ID and spam protection. Turn it on, then turn on Block spam and scam calls.

Other Android phones. In Google’s Phone app: More > Settings > Caller ID and spam > turn on Filter spam calls. Other Phone apps: use your carrier’s tool.

Your carrier. Each has a free tool. T-Mobile ScamShield: dial #662# to block calls labeled Scam Likely. Verizon Call Filter: check that the spam filter is on, in the app or in My Verizon. AT&T ActiveArmor: fraud calls are blocked automatically, and in the app you can send spam calls to voicemail.

Landline. A call-blocking device plugs in next to the phone. Phone service from your internet provider: ask it about call blocking.

The Do Not Call Registry cuts sales calls from companies that follow the law. It won’t stop scammers. Report robocalls there.