Bitdefender launches free phone number lookup tool to combat scammers

Bitdefender, a cybersecurity company, has launched a free and unlimited “Reverse Phone Lookup” tool that assesses whether unknown numbers are linked to spam or scams.

The tool helps determine whether calls are safe, spam, or a potential threat by simply entering any number the user doesn’t recognize. The Free Reverse Phone Lookup tool is available here.

Update: Following the publication of this story, the associated links became inactive, the content was removed by Bitdefender, and the service seems to be no longer available. Cybernews has contacted the company seeking further clarification.

“No sign-ups, no limits, and definitely no personal data required,” the company previously said.

On average, every American receives several scam calls each month. Truecaller reports that users in the United States receive an average of eight spam calls per month, resulting in a combined 2.8 billion unwanted calls every month. A quarter of scam victims have been targeted via phone calls.

“Over the past year, people spent 196 million hours answering spam calls – equal to 8.1 million days,” Bitdefender explained in a blog post.

Scammers are increasingly more sophisticated, using generative AI to send fraudulent text messages to thousands of users simultaneously, and AI voice cloning to impersonate relatives or trusted institutions.

Bitdefender said that it is running a farm of honeypots – AI voice bots that talk directly to scammers and waste their time. This helps to study scam attempts and update the databases with latest threat intelligence.

Security experts advise users to avoid answering or returning calls from numbers identified as spam or scams. Even if you’re confident that you won’t be defrauded, fraudsters can record your voice and use it against your loved ones.

The numbers identified as likely safe don’t automatically mean they’re harmless.

“It simply means that our systems haven’t detected any known malicious activity associated with that number yet. Scammers frequently rotate through fresh, never-before-seen numbers, spoof legitimate numbers, or generate new VoIP lines on the fly to avoid detection,” Bitdefender said.

To further reduce the risk, users should register their numbers with national “Do Not Call” lists (where available), use call-blocking apps or special call blocking features, choose to let unknown numbers go to voicemail, and check them later. The firm’s mobile security app combines the reverse lookup feature with other protections such as call blocking, anti-fraud warnings, and threat detection.

Updated on December 20th [08:35 a.m. GMT] with information that the service is no longer available.

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