You have received a call from a number you do not recognise. Before calling back, a quick check can save you hours of trouble and money. In France, several million fraudulent calls are made every day. There are fast, free, and effective methods to find out whether a number is associated with a scam, abusive canvassing, or a legitimate service. This guide covers all of them.
Method 1: TelCheck, the community reputation engine
Enter the number directly in TelCheck (telcheck.fr). Within seconds you get a reputation score from 1 (very trustworthy) to 9 (very suspicious), based on TelCheck community reports. You also see the category assigned (scam, commercial canvassing, customer service, bank, government, etc.), total report count, detailed comments from people who received the same call, and technical information about the number.
A number scoring 7 or above with comments mentioning a fake bank adviser or ping call is a clear warning sign.
Method 2: analyse the number's prefix
The prefix gives useful clues under France's national numbering plan (ARCEP). Numbers starting with 01–05 are geographic landlines. 06 and 07 are mobile numbers. 09 numbers are VoIP — cheap and easy to obtain in bulk, favoured by canvassing platforms. Numbers starting with 0899 or 0897 are premium-rate. Unusual foreign prefixes (+222, +678, +252) are strong indicators of a ping call.
Method 3: search online
Copy the number and search on Google or Bing. If it has been reported on consumer forums, phone security blogs, or social networks, you will find accounts from others who received it.
Method 4: your carrier's tools
All four major French carriers offer integrated protection: Orange's "Protection avancée", SFR's "Anti-spam vocal", Bouygues Telecom's "Stop SPAM", and Free's filtering through the client portal.
Method 5: native smartphone features
On iPhone (iOS 16+), enable "Silence Unknown Callers" in Settings → Phone. On Android (Pixel, most Samsung), the built-in Phone app spam filter displays "Likely spam" or "Likely scam" alerts in real time.
What to do once you have checked
If the number is probably associated with a scam, do not call back. Report it on TelCheck and Signal Conso (signalconso.gouv.fr). If you have already been defrauded, file a complaint at service-public.fr or at your local police station.