A voicemail that asks you to call back is only safe to act on if you check the claim through a contact you already trust, not the number in the message. Scam voicemails are built to make a return call feel urgent: an account problem, a "final notice," a package on hold. The number they leave is the one part of the message you should never use.
Why scammers want you to call them
A live call on an unknown line is easy to ignore. A voicemail changes the dynamic: you listen on your own time, the story sounds official, and when you call back you are the one who reached out. That makes the conversation feel legitimate before it starts.
The callback also gives the scammer control: you reach whoever they put on that line, whether a menu that sounds like a real company or a person reading a script.
Caller ID does not settle it either. The FTC warns that scammers can make almost any name or number appear on your screen, including a business you know. A voicemail that shows your bank's name, or a local area code, proves nothing on its own.
The scripts you are most likely to hear
Most callback voicemails share one structure: a problem, a deadline, and a number to call.
- The account problem. A message says your bank account, card, or online account has been locked or shows suspicious activity, and asks you to call to "verify" it. The FTC notes that banks use one-time codes to prove it's really you, so sharing one lets a scammer pose as you, and anyone who says you must move money to protect it is a scammer.
- The "final notice." A recording warns that a warranty, subscription, tax matter, or service is about to be closed or cancelled unless you call today. The FCC describes auto-warranty messages that claim you already got "several notices in the mail" and that your file is about to close. The callers are not your dealer or manufacturer.
- The package hold. A message says a delivery is waiting or could not be completed and asks you to call to confirm an address or pay a small fee. Fake delivery messages appear among the FTC's robocall scam examples. A real carrier gives you a tracking number you can check on its own website.
- The government or legal threat. A recording claims to be from a tax agency, the police, or a court and mentions a warrant or lawsuit. The FTC says no government agency will call you out of the blue for your Social Security number, and that real law enforcement will not call and threaten you.
The common thread is pressure. Urgency is there to stop you from pausing long enough to check the story another way.
When the callback number itself costs money
Some callback voicemails, especially vague ones that ask you to "call back about an important matter" without naming a company, are not after your information at all. The number can lead to an international or premium line where the call itself earns the scammer money, and the FCC's advice is not to return calls from numbers you don't recognize. Our guide to handling an international number you don't recognize explains how to read the country code without calling it.
How to check the claim without calling the number left
The principle is the same one the FTC repeats in its imposter alerts: hang up, find the organization's contact details yourself, and use those. Never use the number the caller provides. In practice, that means going to a source you already trust.
- Bank or card: the number printed on the back of your card or on your statement, or the secure messages inside the bank's official app.
- Delivery: the tracking page on the carrier's own website, reached by typing the address yourself, or the order page of the store you bought from.
- Subscriptions and utilities: your account page on the company's official site, or the phone number on a paper bill.
- Government: the agency's official .gov website, found by typing it yourself rather than through a link or number from the message.
If the problem is real, it will be there when you check through those channels. If nothing matches, you have your answer, and you have not given anyone a live connection, a payment, or a code. For a broader way to weigh any unfamiliar caller before you respond, see how to decide whether a number is safe to answer or call back.
Signs a voicemail is not what it claims
- It asks you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app. The FTC says anyone who insists you can only pay that way is a scammer.
- It will not name the specific account, order, or reference you could check yourself.
- It threatens arrest, cancellation, or legal action within hours.
- It is a recording that asks you to press a key or call a different number than the one that called you.
- The same message arrives from several different numbers.
No single sign proves a scam, which is why the check belongs with your own trusted contact. If the caller left no message at all, that absence is a signal of its own, covered in missed call, no voicemail: should you call back.
What to do next
- Do not call the number from the voicemail. Keep the message; it is useful if you report it.
- Verify the claim through a contact you already trust, as described above.
- Block the number in your phone if the calls repeat, knowing scammers often rotate numbers.
- Report fraud attempts to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov with the number, the callback number left, and the date and time. If you were billed after calling back a one-ring number, contact your carrier first, then see the FCC's one-ring scam guide on filing a complaint.
- If you already called back and shared information or paid, contact your bank or card company right away and read the FTC's guidance on phone scams.