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TelCheck Blog
How to identify an unknown number in France
Just missed a call from a number you don't recognise? Discover the most effective methods to find out who owns that number before calling back.
Phone scams in 2026: new techniques to watch out for
Fraudsters are constantly evolving. In 2026, new phone scam techniques have emerged in France. Get up to speed to better protect yourself.
What to do when a suspicious number calls you
Suspicious call, unknown foreign number, or pressure to call back quickly? Here are the right reflexes to adopt to avoid falling into the trap.
Guide to French phone number prefixes
What do the prefixes 01, 02, 06, 07, 09, 0800... mean in France? This comprehensive guide explains everything about French telephone numbering.
How to stop telemarketing calls in France
Bloctel registration, carrier settings, filtering apps... All the legal solutions to put an end to unsolicited telemarketing calls.
Premium rate numbers in France: what you need to know before calling back
Seen an 089x or 118xx number on your phone? Before calling back, discover the real costs, one-ring scams, and how to dispute unfair charges.
Phone spoofing: when scammers display your bank's number
Caller ID can be faked. Understand how scammers impersonate official numbers and how to defend yourself against this technique.
Robocalls and automated calls: how to stop them
Robocalls are flooding French phone lines. Find out how to identify them, block them via Bloctel and your carrier, and report them effectively.
Private or masked caller: should you answer?
"Masked", "Private" or "Unknown": who calls like this and why? We explain how to tell a legitimate professional call from a scam attempt.
Fake parcel delivery scams: how to avoid the trap
An SMS or call asking you to pay fees to release a parcel? This guide helps you spot fake DHL, La Poste, and Chronopost delivery notifications.
Tech support scams by phone: "Your computer is infected"
Unexpected call from "Microsoft" or "Apple" claiming your computer is infected? Learn how this classic scam works and how to protect yourself.
Protecting your phone number: GDPR rights and best practices
Your phone number is personal data protected by GDPR. Discover your rights and concrete actions to limit its spread.
Crypto scams by phone: don't fall for the trap
An adviser promises exceptional crypto returns over the phone? Find out how these scams work and what to do if you're already involved.
Phone scams targeting seniors: a prevention guide
Elderly people are particularly targeted by phone scams. This guide helps identify the most common scenarios and protect your loved ones.
Short service numbers in France: what do 3 and 4-digit numbers mean?
15, 17, 3939, 3646... What exactly are these short numbers? This guide decodes emergency, public service, and commercial short numbers in France.
Fake energy supplier scam calls: how to respond
A caller claims to be from EDF, Engie, or another supplier to lower your bill? Here's how to identify the scam and defend yourself.
How to verify that a business call is legitimate
Receiving a call from a company or official body does not guarantee it is genuine. Here are methods to verify the legitimacy of any professional call.
Vishing: the voice phishing that empties bank accounts
Vishing combines phone calls with psychological manipulation to steal your banking credentials. Discover the scenarios and how to protect yourself.
Fake prize and contest phone scams: the golden rules
"Congratulations, you've won an iPhone!" — if you receive this type of call, be suspicious. This guide gives you the golden rules to avoid being caught out.
Call from a foreign number: should you call back?
A +44, +32 or exotic country code appears on your phone? Before calling back, evaluate the context: legitimate call or one-ring scam?
What do numbers starting with 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 mean?
Prefixes 01 to 05 designate French geographic landline numbers, allocated by zone by ARCEP. This guide explains their meaning and how to assess their trustworthiness.
06 and 07 numbers: how to tell spam from a real call?
Canvassers love 06 and 07 mobile numbers. Discover the signals that allow you to tell a legitimate call from a canvassing campaign or a scam attempt.
09 numbers: should you answer?
09 numbers are non-geographic VoIP lines massively used by canvassing platforms. This guide helps you know when to answer and when to ignore.
What do numbers starting with +33 mean?
+33 is France's international dialling code. Learn how to decode all +33 sub-prefixes, understand spoofing and verify a number received from abroad.
Suspicious foreign country codes: should you call back?
Certain foreign country codes are regularly exploited for wangiri (one-ring scams). Discover the list of risky codes and the golden rule before calling back.
Why am I called by a UK, Dutch or Belgian number?
A +44, +31 or +32 appearing on your screen? Legitimate call centres, VoIP spoofing or cross-border scams — here is how to tell the difference.
Premium rate numbers: the list of prefixes to know
Exhaustive guide to French premium rate prefixes (0800 to 0899, 118xx) with ARCEP tariffs and associated scams: wangiri, fake voicemail SMS, fake official services.
Fraudulent international calls: how to avoid them?
Wangiri, country code spoofing, offshore centres and cross-border investment scams: this comprehensive guide teaches you to identify and avoid fraudulent international calls.
How to recognise a fraudulent call in 2026?
Suspicious numbers, rehearsed scripts, AI voice cloning… Phone scams are reinventing themselves in 2026. Here are the red flags and the reflexes to adopt so you do not fall into the trap.
15 phone scams rife in France
From fake bank advisor fraud to CPF scams and ping calls, discover the 15 most active phone scams in France and the ways to counter them.
Unknown numbers: call back or hang up?
Calling back an unknown number can be very costly or expose your data. Find out which prefixes to avoid, how to identify the caller without calling back and when it is safe to answer.
Ping call: the premium callback scam explained
A single ring, an unknown foreign number: that is the ping call. This simple but effective scam pushes thousands of French people to call back premium rate numbers every year.
How to check if a number is a scam?
Before calling back or worrying, check for free whether a number has been reported as a scam. Methods, tools and databases to identify fraudulent callers in seconds.
Fake bank advisors: protect yourself on the phone
Fake bank advisor scams are multiplying in France. These fraudsters impersonate your bank to extract your codes and drain your accounts. Here is how to foil them.
CPF, energy and parcel scams by phone
These three types of phone scams flood French lines. How to recognise them, refuse the canvassing and report the fraudsters to the competent authorities.
What to do after receiving a suspicious call?
Did you receive a strange call, an unusual request or a worrying voicemail? Follow this 5-step protocol to protect yourself and help curb phone fraud.
Spoofing: when the displayed number looks legitimate
Phone spoofing allows any number to be shown on your screen — even your bank's. Understanding this manipulation means you will no longer blindly trust the caller ID display.
Block spam calls on iPhone and Android
Automatic silence mode, native filtering, third-party apps, Bloctel registration: all the methods to put an end to unwanted calls on your iPhone or Android.
How to permanently block a number on Android
Native Android settings, Phone app, carrier filtering or third-party app: all the methods to block an unwanted number on your Android smartphone.
How to permanently block a number on iPhone
Block a number on iPhone via iOS, enable Silence Unknown Callers, or use third-party apps. Complete step-by-step guide for iOS 17 and 18.
How to avoid telemarketing calls in France
Bloctel, GDPR, carrier filtering, mobile apps and DGCCRF reporting: all the legal tools to put an end to unsolicited telemarketing calls in France.
How to sign up for Bloctel — and does it actually work?
Bloctel reduces canvassing but does not eliminate it. Find out how to register, what to realistically expect and how to complement it with other tools.
A scammer has your phone number — what should you do?
Immediate steps to take if your number is in the hands of scammers: TelCheck reporting, blocking, CNIL procedures and personal data protection.
How to use TelCheck to check a phone number
TelCheck in 5 minutes: enter a number, read the 1-9 score, browse reports, leave a comment and use the widget on your own site.
TelCheck reputation score explained
How is the TelCheck score from 1 to 9 calculated? This guide explains each level, what each colour means and how to interpret the result for an unknown number.
How to report a number on TelCheck: step-by-step guide
Reporting a suspicious number on TelCheck protects the whole community. This guide explains how to find the entry, choose the right category and write a useful report.
How to embed the TelCheck widget on your website
Webmasters: embed TelCheck's reputation badge on your site via a simple iframe or our REST API. Technical guide with code examples and use cases.
TelCheck report categories explained
Spam, scam, telemarketing, survey, debt collection, legitimate or other: this guide explains what each TelCheck report category means and how to choose correctly.
Who called me? How to identify an unknown number
An unknown number called you and you are hesitant to call back. TelCheck, prefix analysis, search engines and carrier tools: all the methods to find out who it is before acting.
An unknown number keeps calling me: what should I do?
The same unknown number keeps calling back? Understand robocall and ping call behaviour, check on TelCheck, and block and report the harassing number.
How to search a phone number for free
Identify an unknown number without spending a euro: TelCheck, search engines, PagesJaunes and social networks. What free searches can and cannot give you.
Masked number: how to find out who is calling?
Masked, private or unknown number: why numbers are hidden, whether you can identify them, and strategies for handling these calls — including in harassment cases.
Silent calls: why do they happen and what should you do?
You pick up and hear only silence: predictive dialling, ping call or scam? This guide explains the origin of silent calls and the right reflexes to adopt.
Landline, mobile, VoIP or premium-rate: what is the difference?
Numbers 01-05, 06-07, 09 or 08xx: understand the nature of each type of phone line in France, the associated risks and how to check them before calling back.
How to tell if a phone number is trustworthy?
TelCheck score, ARCEP prefix, official directories and call context: a complete method for assessing the trustworthiness of a number before answering or calling back.
How to report an unwanted phone number?
TelCheck, Signal Conso, ARCEP Signaux Faibles, Bloctel and official complaint: all the channels to report an abusive number in France and protect other users.
Finding the identity behind a number legally
GDPR, French law and judicial routes: what is legally possible to identify the author of an unknown call, and what is strictly prohibited.
How does a reverse directory work?
Reverse directory in France: PagesJaunes for businesses, TelCheck as community database, search engines and GDPR legal limits for private individual numbers.