Check a number

What this check does

Enter a US or Canadian number and I read the digits against the North American numbering plan. For a toll-free number you'll see that it's toll-free and not tied to a place. For a regular number you'll see the state or province, cities served and time zone where we have them. That's it.

What it can't tell you

It can't name the owner of a number. It can't tell you the carrier, whether it's a mobile or a landline, or whether other people have flagged it as spam. Nobody can promise those things from the digits alone, and I won't pretend. Your number is processed on our server for the request and isn't saved to a database, though ordinary web server logs may hold the address you visited for about a week. The privacy policy has the details.

What to do next with an unknown caller

• Look for the number on the company's own website, not in an ad or a text link.
• Don't call back a number you can't match. See how to verify a toll-free caller.
• Block the number in your phone, and turn on Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone (Settings > Phone) or Caller ID & spam in Google's Phone app.
• Report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Forward spam texts to 7726.

How to read each part of the result

The kind of number comes first. Toll-free means one of 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 or 888. Geographic means a normal area code with a place behind it. Premium means a 900-style line where the caller pays. Other results mention that a number is too short, too long, or not part of the North American numbering plan at all, which is common with numbers copied wrongly from a voicemail.

Region and cities are where a geographic code was assigned. They're about the code, not the person calling: a cell phone keeps its number when its owner moves, and a spoofer can show any number. The time zone is the one most people find useful, because it tells you whether a call came at an odd hour for the caller or for you. For toll-free numbers these fields are empty on purpose, since the code isn't tied to a location.

Common situations

• A toll-free number left a voicemail about your account. Read how to check the callback number before you dial.
• A number looks local but the voicemail sounds odd. Check the code here, and if it belongs outside the US, see the call-back cost guide.
• You want to know whether a code like 833 is legitimate. The toll-free family guide has the full list.
• You're deciding whether to call back at all. This guide covers what a call back signals.

What to do after the check

Treat the result as one fact, not a verdict. If the number is toll-free, find the company's real number on its own site and ask them. If it's geographic and you don't recognize it, let it go to voicemail and see whether a message follows. If it's from a place outside the US and you never called anyone there, don't return a missed call. You can block the number in your phone and report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The number you type is processed for the request and isn't saved to a database, though ordinary server logs keep the address you visited for about a week, as the privacy policy explains.