> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.withallo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Number Reputation
> Why a number picks up a Spam Likely label, how carriers score a number's reputation, and the steps that clear a flagged number.
Every phone number carries a reputation with the phone networks. Carriers score how a number behaves, and that score decides whether your call rings normally or arrives labeled **Spam Likely** on your customer's screen.
The label is not added by Allo. It comes from the recipient's carrier (AT\&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and their equivalents abroad) and from screening apps installed on their phone, such as Hiya, Truecaller, RoboKiller, and Nomorobo. Each one runs its own scoring system, so the same number can look clean on one network and flagged on another.
**If you make a lot of outbound calls, expect this early on.** A new number has no calling history, so carriers have nothing to judge it by. Numbers that start out with high outbound volume are likely to pick up a spam label in their first weeks. This is not a fault in your setup, and it is not something Allo turns on or off. Real conversations are what clear it.
***
## Two systems, two different jobs
People often treat authentication and reputation as one thing. They are scored separately, by different parties.
| | What it answers | Who controls it |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Authentication** (STIR/SHAKEN) | Is this caller allowed to use this number? | Allo and our number provider |
| **Reputation** | How has this number behaved so far? | The recipient's carrier and screening apps |
Every call you place through Allo is signed with full **A-level attestation**, verified at our number provider. That does not change from one call to the next, and it is the strongest signal a provider can attach to a call.
Authentication proves you are not spoofing a number you do not own. It says nothing about whether people want to hear from you. That second question is reputation, and it is where spam labels come from. A number can be fully authenticated and still show a spam label.
| Attestation | Meaning |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **A (Full)** | The provider confirms the caller and their right to use this exact number. Highest trust. |
| **B (Partial)** | The provider knows the caller but cannot vouch for the specific number. |
| **C (Gateway)** | The call entered from outside the provider's network. Lowest trust. |
Allo calls are signed at A. STIR/SHAKEN is a US and Canadian framework, and other countries run their own anti-fraud systems.
***
## What carriers actually score
Carriers and the screening apps installed on your customers' phones watch how a number behaves. Those signals propagate between networks, which is why the same number can look clean on one carrier and flagged on another.
| Hurts your reputation | Helps your reputation |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| High volume in a short burst from one number | Calls that turn into actual conversations |
| A lot of very short calls | Calls of a normal length for your business |
| Many unanswered calls in a row | People calling you back on the same number |
| Repeat attempts to the same number | A registered caller ID name |
| Recipients tapping "Report spam" or blocking you | A text before the call, so the person knows who is calling |
| Dialing disconnected or wrong numbers | A current, cleaned-up contact list |
None of these is a switch. Each one nudges a score that carriers recalculate on their own schedule.
A number can arrive with a label already attached:
* **History from a previous owner.** Phone numbers get recycled. If a number you bought or ported was misused before you had it, you inherit its reputation.
* **Spoofing by bad actors.** Scammers sometimes fake a real number on their outbound calls. The complaints land on that number even though its owner never placed the calls.
In both cases the remediation steps below are the right move: they document who legitimately uses the number today.
***
## Warming up a number
Warming up means giving a new number enough real calling history that carriers stop treating it as unknown. There is no shortcut, because the thing being measured is how the number behaves.
A registered business name gives carriers a trust signal from day one, and gives the person a reason to answer.
Build up over several days instead of dialing your full list on day one. A quiet number that suddenly places hundreds of calls can trip an algorithm on the spike alone.
Answered calls of a normal length are the signal that lifts a score. A high ratio of unanswered, very short calls is the signal that hurts it.
A short heads-up text ("Hi, this is Sam from Smith Plumbing, calling you in 5 minutes about your quote") lifts answer rates and makes a spam report less likely.
Hanging up on voicemail looks like a robocall. Say who you are and why you called. Real, complete calls build a healthy pattern.
If your outbound volume is high, split it across several lines rather than pushing everything through one.
Remove disconnected and wrong numbers, and stop calling people who asked you to. Repeatedly dialing dead lines is a classic spam signal.
Reputation follows behavior. As your number becomes associated with a real business having real conversations, the label becomes less likely to stick.
***
## If your number is already flagged
No single button removes a spam label everywhere at once. Work through these steps, then give the networks a couple of weeks of good behavior to recover. In a hurry? Steps 2, 3 and 5 carry most of the weight.
Call a few phones on different carriers (one AT\&T, one T-Mobile, one Verizon) and look at what shows on screen. You can also look your number up on the **Free Caller Registry** or in Truecaller. A label lives with the recipient's network, not on your line, so this tells you where the problem actually is.
The [Free Caller Registry](https://freecallerregistry.com) submits your number, in one place, to the analytics partners behind the three major US carriers (engines run by companies like Hiya, TransUnion, and First Orion). You declare your business name, the numbers you call from, and what kind of calls you make. This is the single most effective step for a legitimate business number.
If it is not set yet, do it now in **Settings > Numbers**, in the **Number reputation** section. Registration is free and self-serve. If you also send texts from a US number, complete your 10DLC brand registration in **Settings > Compliance**: a registered brand is a trust signal across both calls and texts.
The popular call-blocking apps each have a free remediation form to report a number as legitimate. Submit your number to **Hiya**, **Truecaller**, **RoboKiller**, and **Nomorobo**. This is worth doing whenever a customer tells you which app is showing the warning.
Reputation is rebuilt by behaving like a real business. Bring your daily volume down for a while, prioritize calls that turn into conversations over raw dial count, and clean your list. Without this step, the label comes straight back after you clear it.
Scores update gradually, so repeat the test calls from step 1 after a week or two. If one carrier still flags or blocks you, go to it directly: USTelecom's Industry Traceback Group keeps a single directory with the contact form or email for every terminating carrier, [Call Labeling and Blocking Points of Contact](https://www.ustelecom.org/the-industry-traceback-group-itg/call-labeling-and-blocking-points-of-contact/).
***
## Your caller ID name
Your caller ID name (CNAM) is the business name shown next to your number when you call a US or Canadian number. You set it yourself in **Settings > Numbers**, in the **Number reputation** section.
* **15 characters maximum**, so pick a short form of your business name
* Up to **72 hours** to propagate across all carriers
* US and Canadian numbers only
The rules, the character limit, and how to fix a wrong name
***
## Frequently asked questions
There is no switch that clears a label. Carriers score a number on how it behaves, so the fix is to change what the number does and give the score time to catch up:
* Register your caller ID name if you have not already
* Register with the Free Caller Registry
* Bring your daily volume down for a while
* Prioritize calls that turn into conversations over raw dial count
* Remove disconnected and wrong numbers from your list
A label that reflects a real calling pattern comes back if the pattern stays the same. This is why the answer is behavior rather than a one-time action. The full sequence is in [If your number is already flagged](#if-your-number-is-already-flagged).
No, and it usually costs you. A new number resets its history to zero, which is not the same as a good reputation: carriers treat an unknown number with suspicion, so you start the warming period again from the beginning. You also lose a number your customers recognize and may have saved.
If the calling pattern that triggered the label has not changed, the new number ends up in the same place. If a number stays blocked after registration and a corrected pattern, contact support about replacing it.
Partly, and it depends on why you are rotating.
**Spreading volume across a few numbers helps.** Splitting heavy outbound across several lines keeps any single number below the burst pattern that trips an algorithm.
**Rotating to outrun a label does not work.** Each number builds its own reputation from its own behavior, so if the calling pattern is what caused the label, every number in the rotation picks one up in turn. Cycling through many numbers also works against you, because a number with thin history has nothing vouching for it and stays unknown.
Use a few numbers, warm each one, and keep them. Do not treat numbers as disposable.
Call a few phones on different carriers and look at what shows on screen. A label lives with the recipient's network, not on your line, which is why the same number can look clean on one carrier and flagged on another. If a customer mentions a specific screening app, ask them which one, since each app scores separately.
Numbers are recycled between businesses, so you may have inherited the previous owner's reputation. Registering the number under your business with the Free Caller Registry documents the new, legitimate ownership and is the right first move.
No. Allo never labels your own number. The labels are applied by phone carriers and by screening apps on the recipient's phone. Allo's job is to give your calls the strongest trust signals available, full STIR/SHAKEN attestation and a registered caller ID name.
Carriers recalculate scores on their own schedule, so expect the change to show over weeks rather than days, and only if the calling pattern behind the label has changed. A number with a long history of complaints takes longer.
Each major US carrier offers a free remediation path: AT\&T via the Hiya-powered process, T-Mobile via its Name ID and scam-shield reporting, and Verizon via its caller-name management. The Free Caller Registry reaches the analytics engines behind all three at once, so start there.
To go direct to one carrier, use USTelecom's [Call Labeling and Blocking Points of Contact](https://www.ustelecom.org/the-industry-traceback-group-itg/call-labeling-and-blocking-points-of-contact/) directory, which lists the contact form or email for every terminating carrier.
A SIP 608 is the network's way of saying the recipient's carrier blocked the call before it could ring, because it suspected the call was fraudulent. This is a step beyond a Spam Likely label: instead of warning the person, the carrier stops the call from reaching them at all.
A few things to know:
* **Not every carrier uses 608.** Some major wireless carriers return it, others use a different 6XX code for the same reason.
* **One occurrence can be a fluke. Repeated 608s are a signal.** They mean a carrier has decided something about your traffic looks suspicious, and you should act rather than ignore it.
* **The fix is the same as for a spam label:** register with the Free Caller Registry, set your caller ID name, correct your calling pattern, then reach the carrier that is blocking you through the USTelecom directory above.
Carriers do not publish thresholds, and there is no figure that holds across every network. What they weigh is the shape of the traffic rather than the raw count: how many of your calls get answered, how long they last, and how many land on dead or wrong numbers. A high volume that mostly turns into conversations looks healthier than a much smaller volume that all goes unanswered.
The tool is not the signal, the pattern is. A carrier cannot tell whether a number was dialed by hand or from a queue. What it sees is volume, answer rate, and call length.
A dialer does make the risky pattern easier to produce, because it removes the natural pacing of dialing by hand. Pace your sessions and watch how many calls actually connect.
STIR/SHAKEN and CNAM are specific to the US and Canada. Most other countries run their own caller-reputation and anti-fraud systems, and the calling habits that build a good reputation are the same everywhere. If you call from an international Allo number and see spam labels, contact support.
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## Need help
We can check your number's setup, correct a caller ID name registered with the wrong details, and point you to the right carrier dispute channel.
## Where to go next
Display your business name on US and Canadian calls
Add lines to spread out heavy outbound volume
Register 10DLC and text a customer before you call
How your business number works on Allo