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“Potential Spam” Call On iPhone? Here’s What It Really Means!

    David Lynch
  • 6 years ago
    • Categories: Phone

You just received a strange call on your iPhone and you’re not sure why. When you picked up your iPhone after hearing it ring, it said “Potential Spam” in the caller ID. In this article, I’ll tell you what a “Potential Spam” call is on your iPhone and explain why it’s showing up on caller ID!

What Is A “Potential Spam” Call On iPhone?

A “Potential Spam” call is a that Verizon Wireless has flagged using call screening software. “Potential Spam” calls are typically from telemarketers or other nefarious callers who are trying to scam you and take your money.

Currently, Verizon is the only major carrier that labels potentially nefarious callers as “Potential Spam”. Other carriers have implemented a similar call screening software that sometimes labels spam callers as “Scam Likely”.

Why Do I Have Missed Calls From “Potential Spam”?

If you declined or missed one of these spam calls, you’ll still see “Potential Spam” in your list of recent calls in the iPhone Phone app. Open the Phone app and tap on the Recents tab to see if you’ve received a “Potential Spam” call lately!

Androids Can Get Spam Calls Too!

If your friends or family have an Android phone, they may get a “Potential Spam” call too! In fact, any Android device with the Caller ID version 6.1.2 or later and the operating system Nougat or later can flag calls as “Potential Spam”. These calls could also be flagged as “Spam Caller”.

Can’t I Just Block All Of These Calls?

Although there currently isn’t a way to block calls from “Potential Spam”, Verizon does have some excellent spam detection tools. If eliminating spam calls and texts is important to you, you may want to consider switching to a Verizon cell phone plan.

Earlier in this article, I mentioned that other carriers like T-Mobile sometimes flag nefarious calls as “Scam Likely”. If you do receive calls from “Scam Likely”, you can block them entirely!

Clearing Out The Spam

I hope this article cleared up any confusion you had about the “Potential Spam” calls you’ve been receiving. Leave a comment down below if you’ve noticed any other strange caller IDs on your iPhone — we’d love to hear about your experience!

Thanks for reading,
David L.

View Comments (43)

  • Is there a way to see the phone number still or instead of "Potential Spam"? Some are spam but some I might want to answer. If I could see the phone number, it would be helpful but now I have to wait until the call stops.

  • comuster with a virizon plan that include 3 phones. All 3 phones been getting Potential Spam a min of 8 to 12 calls a day. And no I havent had any help from Verizon. To stop these calls. I did go on line to the USA No call list and state no call list and file a complaint. Not that I will get any results.

  • i understand the need and usefulness of having callers listed as potential spam or scammers. My question is how is a number determined to be potential spam or potential scam numbers? I ask because my mobile number caller id shows on other peoples phone as potential spam. i use my phone extensively for business so the option of changing numbers or having contacts program my number in their phone are not realistic options or even possible. I have never used my phone or my mobile number for telemarketing purposes and I have had the same number for almost 20 years. Why is my number considered potential spam, who makes this determination and how can it be corrected? I have customers that tell me they have been waiting for my call but ignore it because it shows as potential spam. This is extremely frustrating and hurts my business. If I was to change numbers, and the countless places it is listed and all of my marketing and advertising items and locations, there is no guarantee that my new number won't mysteriously be determined to be potential spam. So what gives?

  • My mom was in the hospital, and then to an acute care rehab. Whenever they called me, it would show up as a potential spam caller. At first, I would ignore them, and they would leave a message. So, I started picking up calls again, even from "potential spam" callers, labeled as such. I figure, if they are potential spam, I can just hang up on them right away.

  • Hi David. In the past 8 hours, I have had 8 phone calls from Molly from amazon With a suspicious charge of $729. All different numbers and areas including my local area. How can I stop these call?

  • How do I take off the "potential spam" from my calls. It is blocking calls from numbers that I have called and are not in my contact list so I am missing calls from people I am waiting for a call back from.

    • Sounds like you'll need to turn off 'silence unknown callers'. Go to Settings -> Phone -> and then switch Silence unknown callers to the off position.

      • Yesterday on 6/8/21 I received 4 calls from potential started 9:09 pm. up to 10:35 pm..Tried to block, but unable. I know this is a spam call and I am sick and tired, the number calling me is; 585 419-0890..Never any message...

  • Please quit calling me you people call me 500 times a day and I'm tired of it so quit calling me. My number is ***-***-**** take me off your list I don't want to receive another call from you people

    • Sorry, this website is not calling you. This article just explains what to do about spam calls. I censored your phone number in your comment so any spammers lurking the Internet don't use it to send you even more calls. Have a nice day!

  • Hey is there any way to switch back to showing the number. I receive different calls due to Biz and some are showing as Potential Spam and they’re not.

    • It depends on your wireless carrier. You might be able to find more information on their website. I know Verizon will let you block calls.

  • I don't answer calls if I don't know the number, if they need to talk to me they can leave a VM if they don't I think they are not important

    • I do the exact same thing. Stop calling me constantly, just leave a voicemail! ?

  • I am receiving “Potencial span” calls everyday on my house phone. What Ivdi is: hit the incoming call twice (very quickly) and press “off”.

  • I've decided to not answer calls I don't recognize. If they want to talk to me they can leave a message. Thanks Verizon, why would I answer a call that identifies as Potential Spam?

    • Exactly. I don't answer and I give them one chance to leave a message and then they are blocked. Although I did get a call that said "Potential spam" that was a notice of delivery time for a new mattress. But they left a message.

  • A legitimate doctor's phone number is now listed as Potential Spam. How do I remove this erroneous label?

  • Thanks for the information,I am getting call from all over the nation,I just block them,but the potential spam are very frequent.Thanks for the help.

    • exactly right Mike. I work for LEGITIMATE Australian Charities and I've had supporters tell us the call comes up as a potential fraud. So who decides what numbers are potential frauds?? How do you get legitimate numbers removed from this list?

  • I recently got an iPhone 8 and love it, but the problem is that I’m getting those ‘ potential spam ‘ calls that turn out to be employment calls. Any suggestions ?

    • Same situation here. I use my phone for getting paged and I can never see the number that is calling me so I don't know whether it truly is spam or someone paging me for my job.

    • Any answers on this one? I’m currently interviewing and think I might have some calls labeled “Possible Scam”. That could have been my call back? Not sure this is a good thing?

  • I have a android...i work 3rd shift and get these calls back to back all day and night..
    You said earlier to get a verizon plan i have had one for years...and i think a person pays enough for a phone and a phone bill that verizon should take care of this immediately
    Thank you for listening

  • wtf, iphone on "silence non contacts", fricking phone rings, display sows "Potential Spam call". How can this non contact Not be silenced? Did Verizon add a feature to undo this. Aholes!

    • You may be able to contact Verizon customer support and have them disable the "Potential Spam" feature on your iPhone if you don't like it.

      • "You may be able to contact Verizon customer support"? Are you saying that Verizon customer support is so difficult to contact that one's success in attempting to do so is in doubt? That would explain a lot.

  • I just just pick up my phone to a potential spam. When my phone rang it didn't say potential spam once I pick it up no one answered so I hung up that when it said potential spam . I've been getting potential spam everyday and when it a potential spam it say it but today it didn't that how they got me to pick up the phone.how r they able to get u for ur money? Thank u I was always wondering what was a potential spam .again how r they able to get u for ur money? Thank u very much .

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David Lynch: David Lynch is an expert on cell phones, cell phone plans, and other tech. After using a flip phone into his early 20s, he learned the ropes about iPhones and Androids from a former Apple employee. Today, his articles and videos are read and viewed by millions, and he has been cited by major publications including Reader's Digest, Wired, CMSWire, Consumers Advocate, and more.