- A Strategic Initiative to Advance America's Telecommunications Infrastructure
USTelco is committed to combating scam calls and fraudulent texts on our network. This page allows consumers, telecom partners, and regulatory authorities to report persistent scam or fraud communications that appear to involve USTelco’s services. We aim to make the reporting process clear and effective. Please read the guidelines below to understand what to report, what information to include, and how USTelco handles these reports in compliance with U.S. telecom laws. By working together, we can help stop unlawful callers and protect everyone on the network.
USTelco’s Role as a Wholesale Provide
USTelco is primarily a wholesale telecommunications provider. This means we supply VoIP interconnection, SIP trunking, DID (Direct Inward Dial) numbers (including SMS-enabled numbers), and other voice/messaging services to other companies, not directly to individual consumers. In simpler terms, our customers are usually telephone companies, VoIP providers, or businesses, who then provide phone service to end users. USTelco operates exclusively within the United States and its territories, carrying voice traffic for many carriers across the country.
We do not originate calls or texts to consumers. If you received a scam call or text and the number involved is part of USTelco’s network, the call/text was placed by an end user of one of our wholesale customers, not by USTelco itself. Our role is to route and connect calls between telecom networks, acting as a common carrier pipeline. As such, we are not the telemarketing company or individual behind unwanted calls – we provide the phone number or connectivity that a customer of ours is using.
Because of this wholesale role, USTelco typically does not know the identity of the individual making a given call or text. In fact, we are often legally prohibited from obtaining or disclosing that end-user information. Our service-provider customers have their own subscribers, and due to federal privacy regulations (Customer Proprietary Network Information, or CPNI rules), they generally cannot share their end users’ identities with us without proper legal process. USTelco fully abides by these laws – we cannot arbitrarily look up or reveal who is behind a phone number on our network. Instead, our focus is on working with our direct customers (the phone companies or service providers) to stop abuse at its source.
When (and What) to Report
Report only persistent or significant scam/fraud incidents. This form is intended for scam calls or texts that are ongoing, repeated, or clearly fraudulent – for example, robocall campaigns, aggressive impostor scams, phishing texts, or other illicit communications targeting consumers. If you’ve received such communications that you believe involve USTelco’s network, please let us know.
- Non-actionable cases: Do not report one-off telemarketing calls or isolated spam incidents that are not persistent. A single unsolicited call or text, while annoying, may not provide enough for us to investigate or act upon (especially if it only happened once and stopped). USTelco’s resources are focused on stopping patterns of abuse – e.g. the same caller harassing many users, or a fraud scheme that continues over time. Random, non-repeating spam calls are often untraceable or outside our control (they could be spoofed or from a different network), so those generally should not be submitted through this form.
- Good faith reports only: Please use respectful language and accurate information in your submission. Obscene or vulgar submissions will be rejected. Reports containing profanity, threats, or slurs will not be processed. We understand frustration with scammers, but to take action we need clear, constructive details. Stick to the facts of the scam, and do not include extraneous abusive remarks. Any report that appears to be spam, a prank, or not made in good faith may be disregarded.
In summary, only report communications that suggest a scam or fraud and that you believe warrant investigation (for instance, multiple fraudulent calls or texts from the same number, or a single incident that caused you financial or security concerns). If you’re merely getting telemarketing calls that you suspect are coming from random autodialers, consider using call-blocking apps or the National Do Not Call Registry. But if you encounter something serious – say, someone pretending to be the IRS and demanding money, or a text phishing for your bank password – and it’s coming through a USTelco-provided number, that’s the kind of issue we want to know about.
Important: USTelco can only address issues that involve our network or numbers. If the call or text did not route through our systems, we may not be able to directly help. (If you’re unsure, you can still submit a report – we will determine if the number is ours. If it isn’t, we’ll let you know it’s outside our scope.) Also, note that this reporting mechanism is not a substitute for reporting crimes to government authorities. If you lost money or feel threatened, you should also contact local law enforcement or file a fraud report with the FTC. Our investigation will focus on the network abuse aspect, but law enforcement can pursue the scammers themselves.
Information Required for a Report
For us to investigate a scam or fraudulent communication, your report must include specific details about the incident. Without complete information, we will not be able to trace the call/text or identify the responsible party. Please include all of the following:
- Your Phone Number (the number that was called or texted): The full telephone number (including area code) that received the scam call or text. This is the number the scammer contacted, which is usually your number.
- Caller’s Phone Number (the number that called or texted you): The phone number that appeared as the caller ID or the source of the text message. If multiple numbers were involved (e.g. you got repeated scam calls from different numbers), you can list them in the description, but it’s often best to submit separate reports for separate numbers.
- Date of Incident: The calendar date when the call or text occurred. (If there were multiple instances, the date of the most recent or most significant incident.)
- Time of Incident: The time the call/text was received, including the time zone or the city/state you were in. This is important, as our logs are time-stamped – e.g. “March 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM EST.”
- Type of Communication: Specify whether it was a phone call or a text message (SMS/MMS). If it was a call, note if it was a live person or a robocall recording. If it was a text, indicate that it was SMS or MMS.
- Description of the Incident: A written description of the scam attempt. Explain what happened during the call or text – for example, “Caller claimed to be from Microsoft tech support and asked for remote access to my computer”, or “Recorded message said my Social Security number was suspended and to press 1”. Include what the scammer said or requested, and why it was fraudulent (e.g. they impersonated a known company or tried to frighten you into paying). The more details you can provide about the content of the call/text, the better we and our partners can understand the nature of the scam.
- Acknowledgment (Good Faith Affirmation): You will need to check a box certifying that the information you are providing is accurate to the best of your knowledge and submitted in good faith. This affirmation is required to ensure we receive truthful reports. Knowingly submitting false information may result in your report being disregarded or other consequences.
Please double-check these details before submitting. Incomplete reports (missing phone numbers or date/time) cannot be investigated. For example, if you only say “I keep getting scam likely calls” without providing the specific caller’s number, we won’t be able to trace it. Likewise, “yesterday afternoon” is not precise enough – we need the exact date and time. Providing the required data points allows us to look up call records and take action. If any required field is left blank, our team may not be able to do anything with your complaint.
How We Handle Your Report
1. Internal Review: Once you submit your report, USTelco’s fraud and abuse team will review the information and verify whether the offending call/text traversed our network. We check if the “Caller’s Phone Number” you provided is assigned to one of our customers or was routed through USTelco. We may correlate the date/time to our call logs to find the specific traffic in question.
2. Forwarding to the Responsible Provider: If we confirm that the call or text in question was carried on our network (i.e., the source phone number belongs to a USTelco customer), we will escalate the report to that wholesale customer for investigation and resolution. In other words, we notify the phone company or service provider that is using our network to reach you. All reports submitted via this form will be forwarded to the appropriate USTelco customer who can investigate the end user or caller on their side. That provider is then responsible for looking into the issue (since they have the direct relationship with the caller or texter). USTelco requires its customers, per our terms of service, to comply with all laws and to prevent misuse of their numbers. A credible scam/fraud report is a violation of those terms, so our customer must take action – such as warning the end user, suspending service, or disconnecting the phone number – if the complaint is validated.
3. Investigation and Action: USTelco and our customer will work together to investigate the scam complaint. The process typically involves our customer attempting to identify the specific end user or client who made the call, confirming the fraudulent activity, and then taking appropriate action. Actions can include:
- Contacting the end user or reseller to gather more information or demand the fraudulent activity cease.
- Suspending or terminating service for that user if a violation is confirmed (for example, shutting down the phone number used in the scam).
- Internally blocking the offending traffic on our network (to prevent further calls/texts from that source).
- Notifying law enforcement or regulatory authorities if the scam is serious or part of a larger criminal pattern. (USTelco participates in industry traceback efforts and will cooperate with FCC, FTC, and other authorities when appropriate.)
USTelco keeps a log of all scam reports. If we receive multiple reports about the same number or customer, it raises a red flag and can fast-track enforcement. We also analyze patterns (such as robocall signatures or common scam scripts) to improve our network filters and contribute to industry-wide anti-fraud initiatives.
4. Follow-Up Communication: In general, after you submit a report, you should not expect an individual response from USTelco in most cases – our team will be working behind the scenes. We are unable to disclose specific outcomes of an investigation back to the original reporter due to privacy laws (see the next section). However, there are a few instances where we may follow up with you via the email you provided:
- If critical information was missing from your report. For example, if you forgot to include the caller’s number or the time of the incident, we might reach out to request that missing detail so we can proceed.
- If our team determines that the reported number is not associated with USTelco’s network. In that case, we may inform you that the matter is outside our jurisdiction (and possibly direct you to other resources like reporting to the proper carrier or the FTC).
- In some cases, we might confirm receipt of your report and let you know that we’ve passed it to the relevant provider. But we will not be able to share specifics like “we caught the scammer” or “we shut down the number,” due to confidentiality.
Please note: If you don’t provide a valid contact email, we won’t be able to reach you even in the above cases. So if you do want the possibility of a follow-up question or update, be sure to include an email address. Otherwise, just know that “no news is good news” in the sense that we will still act on your report as described, even if you don’t hear back from us.
USTelco appreciates your patience and understanding that the remediation process takes time and discretion. We treat every valid report seriously and will work to stop the fraudulent activity. While you might not see an immediate result, behind the scenes we may be suspending a user’s account or even aiding law enforcement in a case. Our goal is to prevent further harm – for you and all other consumers.
Customer Privacy & Legal Limitations (Disclaimer)
USTelco must adhere to strict customer privacy regulations. We want to be transparent about what we can and cannot do with regard to identifying scammers and sharing information:
- Limited visibility into end users: As explained, USTelco’s direct customers are other telecom providers or businesses, not the individual callers. We generally do not know who the end user is (the person who actually made the call or sent the text). In fact, under federal Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) regulations, our wholesale customers cannot disclose their end-user information to us without legal authorization. This means USTelco itself often does not have personal data like the name or address of the person who called you.
- We cannot share customer identities with you: Even in cases where we or our customer identify the source of the scam, USTelco is legally barred from revealing the identity or personal details of the customer or end user to the person reporting the scam. We understand you might want to know “who was behind it” or what action was taken, but privacy laws (and our contracts) prevent us from disclosing that information. We also cannot confirm or deny whether a particular number is associated with any specific individual. Any information we obtain during our investigation about the offending party will remain confidential.
- Use of your information: Any personal information you provide to USTelco in the report (such as your name, email, or phone number) is protected by privacy laws and our own Privacy Notice. We will use this information only for the purpose of processing your complaint and related fraud prevention activities. We will not share your identity outside of USTelco and our immediate investigative process. (For example, if we forward details to our wholesale customer, we include the numbers and incident description, but we do not necessarily provide your name or email to the originating caller. In any case, the scammer will not be notified who filed the report.)
- Legal process and law enforcement: If a law enforcement agency or regulator (e.g. FCC/FTC) requests information as part of an investigation, USTelco can provide relevant records to them under appropriate legal process. We have a dedicated compliance team that handles subpoenas, court orders, or emergency requests according to the law. Outside of such official requests, we cannot release information about customers or traffic on our network. In short, USTelco’s actions are constrained by law – we will always act within the bounds of our legal authority to combat fraud (and we actively support enforcement efforts), but we must also protect privacy and due process.
By submitting a report, you acknowledge and understand the above limitations. Our primary objective is to stop fraudulent use of our network while respecting the privacy rights of all parties. We appreciate your cooperation and awareness of why certain information may not be shared back to you.
Scam Prevention & Safety Tips
Scammers often conceal their identities by displaying “No Caller ID” or spoofing a familiar number on your phone. It’s usually best to ignore or decline calls from unknown or suspicious numbers. Staying vigilant with incoming calls and texts is a key step in protecting yourself from phone scams.
While USTelco works on the network side to block scammers, it’s important for you to stay safe as a consumer. Here are some prevention and safety tips (modeled on industry best practices and the Sinch Voice guidelines) to help you avoid falling victim to phone scams:
- Don’t engage with suspected scammers. If you realize an incoming call or text is likely a scam, do not engage or respond. Hang up the phone immediately – do not feel obligated to be polite with fraudulent callers. Likewise, do not reply to suspicious text messages. Engaging a scammer in conversation or replying to a robocall (even by pressing a number to “opt-out”) can mark your number as active, leading to more scam attempts. It’s best to simply cut off communication.
- Be cautious with unknown numbers. If you get a call from a number you don’t recognize, when in doubt, don’t answer. Let it go to voicemail. Many scam calls will hang up if they reach voicemail or won’t leave a message, which is telling. Answering unknown calls just increases your risk. As the FCC advises, don’t answer calls from unknown numbers; if you do by accident and it’s not who you expected, hang up. Similarly, think twice before responding to an unsolicited text from an unknown sender – it could be a phishing attempt.
- Never share personal or financial information. A legitimate company or government agency will not call or text out of the blue asking for sensitive details like your Social Security number, bank account, passwords, or one-time verification codes. If a caller is asking for personal information or money transfer and you did not initiate the contact, it’s almost certainly a scam. Do not give out passwords, PINs, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or any confidential info over the phone unless you initiated the call to a known, trusted number. Scammers often impersonate banks, governments, or companies to sound official – but real institutions will have your info on file and won’t demand it for “verification” purposes in an unsolicited call.
- Don’t trust Caller ID – spoofing is rampant. Scammers can easily fake the Caller ID information that appears on your phone. The call might look like it’s coming from a local number, a familiar business, or even your own number (a tactic scammers use to catch your attention). They can also make it display as “IRS” or “Police Dept” or any name/number they choose. Never rely solely on the caller ID to determine if a call is legitimate. If the caller claims to be from an official entity (your bank, credit card, a government office), it’s safer to hang up and independently call that entity back at a verified number (like the number on your bank statement or the agency’s official website) to confirm. Remember: what you see on your phone’s screen can be spoofed – so treat unexpected calls with healthy skepticism.
- Beware of high-pressure tactics and threats. Scammers often try to scare you or rush you. They might threaten arrest, lawsuits, or loss of service (“your electricity will be shut off in 30 minutes!”) if you don’t comply immediately. They may also create a sense of panic – claiming your account was hacked or your relative is in trouble – to cloud your judgment. Legitimate organizations will not threaten you or push you to act instantly over the phone. For example, the IRS will never call and demand immediate payment under threat of arrest. If a caller is pressuring you and making dire threats, it is a huge red flag of a scam. Hang up and don’t respond to such intimidation.
- Be skeptical of too-good-to-be-true offers. On the flip side of threats, some scammers lure you with promises: you’ve won a lottery or prize, you’re pre-approved for a huge loan, or an “investment” will double your money overnight. Unsolicited offers that sound too good to be true are almost always scams. If you didn’t enter a contest, you didn’t magically win one. You can’t be chosen for a grant you never applied for. Treat unexpected windfalls or free offers with extreme caution. Often these are just tricks to get your personal info or upfront fees. It’s best to firmly decline or ignore any offer that doesn’t feel 100% legitimate.
- Don’t pay via gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfer. A telltale sign of a scam is when a caller demands to be paid in non-traditional methods like gift cards (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play cards), cryptocurrency (Bitcoin), or wire services (Western Union, MoneyGram). Scammers prefer these methods because they’re hard to trace and irreversible. If someone on the phone says, “Go buy a $500 gift card and read me the code,” you are certainly dealing with a scammer. No legitimate business or government agency accepts gift cards as payment for any obligation. Similarly, they won’t ask you to send money by Bitcoin or a wire transfer to some stranger. Hang up immediately if you hear any request for payment via gift cards or crypto – it’s a scam.
- Use available call-blocking and labeling tools. To reduce the volume of scam calls, take advantage of call-blocking technology. Many phone companies (and smartphone apps) offer tools to block known scam/spam numbers or label potential spam calls on your caller ID. Check with your mobile carrier about free blocking services, or consider third-party apps like Nomorobo, Hiya, Robokiller, etc., which can automatically block or screen likely scam calls. While this won’t catch everything, it can significantly cut down on interruptions. Also register your number on the National Do Not Call Registry to avoid legitimate telemarketing (though scammers may ignore the DNC list, it still helps to register). And if a particular number keeps harassing you, block it on your device.
- Stay informed about common scams. Knowledge is power. Scammers constantly come up with new stories, but many schemes repeat. Educate yourself on frequent scam scenarios: IRS or Social Security impostor scams (fake agents asking for money or personal info), tech support scams (callers pretending to be Microsoft/Apple saying you have a virus), grandparent scams (someone claims your family member is in trouble and needs money), smishing (SMS phishing texts that trick you into clicking malicious links), and more. The FCC and FTC regularly publish alerts about new scam trends. By familiarizing yourself with these tactics, you’ll be quicker to recognize when something “just isn’t right.” For example, if someone calls saying “Can you hear me?” repeatedly, it could be the “Yes” scam trying to record you saying “yes” – knowing about it in advance helps you avoid even responding. Stay alert, and when in doubt, verify independently or simply don’t respond.
By following these safety tips, you can greatly reduce the risk of being defrauded. Always remember: if something feels off about a call or text, trust your instincts – it’s better to be safe (hang up or ignore) than to regret engaging with a scammer. For more guidance, you can visit consumer resources from the FTC (consumer.ftc.gov) or FCC (fcc.gov) which offer detailed advice on avoiding phone scams and fraud.
Report a Scam Incident Form
If you have experienced a persistent scam or fraudulent communication that meets the criteria above, and you’ve gathered the required details, please fill out the form below to submit your report. We will use this information to investigate and take appropriate action. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.