Frequently Asked Questions
Is this an official FTC or FCC site?
No. CheckThisCaller is an independently built and operated site, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either agency. We use their public complaint data (the same data anyone can query directly through their APIs) and present it in one place. If you want to file an official complaint yourself, every result page links straight to the real FTC and FCC complaint portals.
How is the spam score calculated?
Every report (FTC, FCC, or community-submitted) counts toward a number, but older reports count for less. Each report's weight halves every 180 days, so a number with a burst of reports two years ago and nothing since will show as much lower risk than one with the same report count spread over the last month. This keeps recycled numbers from staying flagged indefinitely after they change hands. The label you see ("Rarely reported" through "Very frequently reported") is a bucketed version of that decayed score, not a raw report count.
My number is showing reports, but I didn't do anything wrong.
Phone numbers are reassigned constantly, and complaint data is self-reported by consumers, not independently verified by us or by the FTC/FCC. A number can carry reports from a previous holder. That's part of why report weight decays over time instead of staying flagged forever. See the scoring question above. If you believe a number is associated with reports in error, contact us through the About page and we'll take a look.
How often is the data updated?
Daily. An automated job pulls new complaints from both the FTC and FCC public APIs every day and folds them into each number's report count and score. We also aggregate recent scam warnings from the FTC, FBI, and Social Security Administration on our scam alerts page.
Can I report a number myself?
Yes. Every result page has a form to submit a report directly. It doesn't require an account, but submissions are rate-limited per IP address to keep the data trustworthy and resistant to brigading.
Do you try to identify who owns a number?
No, and we deliberately don't build that feature. This site reports on numbers, not people: no reverse lookup, no people-search, no name/address matching. That's a hard line, not a roadmap item.
Do you sell my data?
See the Privacy Policy for the full answer, including your opt-out rights under the CCPA and how we handle ad personalization.
Is the free version always free?
Basic lookups and community reporting are free with no account required. A paid tier adds saved/watched numbers, fuller report history, and removes ads. It funds the data and hosting costs of keeping the free tier running.