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Landline vs VoIP home phone: which gets more spam?

JA

By June Aldous, Editor, HomeLine Guard
Updated

I know of no reliable public figure showing that one kind of home phone gets more spam than the other. Volume follows the number: how old it is, where it has been listed, whether it has been spoofed. What does differ is the toolkit. VoIP plans usually give you more ways to fight spam, and a copper line keeps working in a power cut.

Why spam volume follows the number and not the wire

Spam callers dial from lists. They do not much care whether your number rings on copper in a hallway or on an adapter in a closet. A number that has been in the family for twenty years, turned up in old directories, been typed into shop loyalty forms and sold on through data brokers will be called a lot, whatever it connects to.

The reverse holds too. A new number picked up with a VoIP plan last month may be quiet for a while and then get busy once it lands on a list. Some providers also reissue numbers that earlier owners dropped, and a recycled number can arrive with a ready-made stream of calls meant for the previous owner. So the useful question is not which line gets more spam. It is which line you have, and what you can switch on for it. The steps below get you there in about twenty minutes.

Step by step: find out which line you have

You need your latest bill, a pen, and the phone you use most. Do these in order.

  1. Follow the phone's cable. Trace it from the handset or base to where it plugs in.

    You will see: either a flat wall jack, which points to copper, or a modem, router or small adapter with a socket labeled "Phone" or "Tel 1," which means VoIP. A cable company's "digital voice" is VoIP under another name.

  2. Read the bill for the telltale words. Look under the line items for the phone service.

    You will see: words like "digital voice," "home phone over internet" or "VoIP" for the second kind, and plain "local service" or "landline" for the first. When the bill is vague, the provider can say in one sentence.

  3. Test the power-cut behavior, if nobody is relying on the phone right now. Plug in a corded phone if you have one. Unplug the modem or adapter from the wall for a minute and lift the handset.

    You will see: a dial tone, which means copper or a working battery backup, or silence, which means VoIP with no backup. A cordless handset's base needs mains power on any line, so use a corded phone for this test.

  4. Ask which blocking features come with the plan. Put the question in the same call as the one about the line type. The list of questions for your phone company gives the wording.

    You will see: a list of feature names and prices. Write each down with the date.

Step by step: switch on what your line offers

If you have a copper landline

  1. Lift the handset, wait for the dial tone and dial the personal block list code, often *60, right after an unwanted call.

    You will see: nothing on a screen, only a recording that tells you what to press. If you get a fast busy signal, your plan does not include the feature.

  2. Dial *77 to try anonymous call rejection, then ask a friend to call with *67 in front of your number to test it.

    You will see: a silent phone for the friend's hidden call, and the friend hearing a rejection recording.

  3. Look through the provider's online account for a spam filter or a block list page; several carriers keep their options there and not behind star codes.

If you have a VoIP home phone

  1. Sign in to the provider's web dashboard and look for call blocking, quiet hours and unknown-caller settings.

    You will see: larger block lists than most star-code systems offer, schedules, and often a log of every call that rang.

  2. Read that log for a week. The "mystery" call every afternoon is often the same number each time, and once you know that, blocking it takes seconds.
  3. Turn on every filter the plan includes and send unknown callers to voicemail if the option exists.
  4. Check the modem or adapter for a battery backup, since a VoIP phone without one goes quiet when the power does.

Step by step: check how old your number is

Since the number matters more than the wire, spend five minutes on it.

  1. Ask the provider whether the number is new or recycled. They may not know, but some can say whether it was issued before.

    You will see: either a plain answer or "we cannot say." Both are information.

  2. Watch the first week and write down the calls. Note the time, the number on the screen and whether the caller asked for someone by name.

    You will see: calls that ask for a person who is not you, which is the usual sign of a recycled number, and calls at odd hours from the same few numbers.

  3. Hold off handing the number to everyone. Give it first to family and the bank, and let the shop loyalty forms and web sign-ups wait. Nothing sends a number to marketing lists faster than a checkout screen.

When a step does not work

A fast busy signal after a star code means the plan lacks the feature, so look for it in the account instead. If a plan truly has nothing, ask what changes with a different plan or other equipment. If a blocked number keeps coming back, blame number rotation: a block list matches exact numbers and spam callers change them. If calls arrive from a code that looks local and feels wrong, a block list will not catch them; the number reader will show the region and time zone, which is sometimes enough to spot the mismatch. And do not return calls from unfamiliar codes such as 876 or 809, which are not US regions and can be the start of a one-ring scam.

If the dashboard shows a log and you cannot find the offending number in it, check which phone port the log covers. Some adapters have two, and a cordless base plugged into the second one will not show up where you expected. And if a feature name on the plan page matches nothing in the dashboard, ask the provider whether it belongs to a different plan tier before you assume it is broken.

If a call carries a label such as "Spam Risk" or "Scam Likely," remember that the phone company or app attached it as an estimate. It is not a verdict in either direction.

What STIR/SHAKEN changes and what it does not

STIR/SHAKEN is a signing standard. Carriers must use it under the TRACED Act of 2019, and it lets the network show that the calling number was handled honestly by the network that started the call. It helps against spoofing. It does not make a call honest: a signed call from a rented number can still be a scam. The standard fits internet-based calling naturally, while calls that pass through older equipment are harder to sign and check. I would not choose a line on that basis, but it is a fair reason to ask your provider what labeling it offers on your line type.

Whether to switch just to cut spam

I would not. A new number protects you only briefly, and a move can cost you a number that friends and your bank know. If you are switching anyway, because the price is better or because the copper service in your area is being retired, use the moment: turn on every filter the new plan offers on day one, and read what happens to your number and your blocking in a move first. Whichever line you keep, register the number with the Do Not Call Registry, knowing it will not stop scammers, and write down strange calls with the date and time, because those notes help if you report them.

A word for sentimental readers. A real landline has charms that have nothing to do with spam: it often works when the power fails, the handset never needs charging and the ring carries to the garden. I keep one for exactly those reasons.

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