Who called me?
Check an unknown Irish number before you ring back. Private, about 60 seconds.
To work out who called from an Irish number there are three steps: read the code, because it already tells you whether the call came from a mobile, a geographic landline, a freephone line or an expensive premium number, search the number in Google inside quotation marks, and run a reverse lookup on anything not openly listed. The caller is never notified, and results are possible matches rather than certainty.
Reading Irish dialling codes correctly
- 083, 085, 086, 087, 089
- Mobile numbers across Three, Eir, Vodafone and the virtual networks such as 48 and GoMo. Normal for a personal call. A brand new mobile with no trace at all is still a signal in its own right when the call was unexpected.
- 01
- Dublin landline. The largest geographic range in the country, and the one most often spoofed by scam calls precisely because it looks ordinary and local.
- 021, 091, 061, 051, 071
- Geographic landlines: Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo. A genuine local business usually calls from its own region, and the area ought to match the story you are being told.
- 1800
- Freephone. Genuine company and State service lines. Ringing one back costs you nothing.
- 0818
- Standard-rate national numbers, charged like a normal call. Widely used by companies and public bodies so callers pay the same from anywhere in the country.
- 15xx
- Premium rate, and the most expensive range there is. No genuine organisation asks you to ring back a 15xx number you did not dial yourself. If one does, that is already your answer.
- +353
- The international form of an Irish number. A call showing +353 is usually a domestic call displayed in full international format, or somebody abroad calling from an Irish number.
- An unfamiliar country code that rings once
- A foreign code, a single ring, then nothing. This is wangiri, and Ireland has been targeted heavily enough that ComReg has issued public warnings about it. The profit is entirely in your call back, which connects to an expensive line. Do not ring back, just block.
The phone scams most common in Ireland
Almost every one of these gives itself away the moment you check the number instead of believing the story. These are the patterns Irish households run into most:
Wangiri one-ring calls
A single ring from an unfamiliar international code, often at night, then silence. The money is made entirely on your call back, which connects to a premium line abroad and is billed at a high rate. Ireland has seen repeated waves of this, and the answer never changes: do not ring back, block the number, and report it to your provider if it repeats.
The safe account scam
A call, apparently from your bank's fraud department, saying your account is compromised and your money must be moved to a new secure account. There is no such thing as a secure holding account, and the moment somebody offers you one the call is a scam. Hang up, wait for the line to clear, and ring the bank on the number printed on your card.
An Post and Revenue text scams
A text claiming to be from An Post, DPD or Fastway saying a parcel is held and a small customs fee is outstanding, or one claiming to be from Revenue about a tax refund, always with a link. The link leads to a page that harvests card details. Neither An Post nor Revenue collects money or issues refunds through a link in a text message.
"Hi Mum" WhatsApp messages
A WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming to be your son or daughter with a new phone, followed shortly by a request to pay a bill urgently because their banking app is not set up yet. The rule that beats every version of this: ring the old, known number and check, before a single euro moves.
Fake tech support
A call saying your computer or broadband router is infected and that you must install remote access software so it can be fixed. Once installed, the other side can see your screen and reach your online banking. No software company rings you unprompted about a virus.
Eircode and delivery confirmation phishing
A message asking you to "confirm your Eircode" or your address to release a delivery. It is a generic phishing script with a local costume: the Eircode makes it feel specific and Irish, but the page it leads to is collecting personal and card details. A real delivery company already has the address it is delivering to.
Fake investment and crypto offers
Cold calls or messages about an investment opportunity with guaranteed returns, often using fabricated news coverage. It starts with small amounts that really are paid out, then comes the large deposit, and after that nothing comes back. Firms providing investment services in Ireland are regulated, and a genuine offer never pressures you to deposit immediately.
Common questions
How do I find out who called from an unknown number?
Read the dialling code, search the number in Google inside quotation marks, and run a reverse lookup. The lookup returns a likely owner, the area, the line type and scam signals in about 60 seconds, without the caller knowing.
What is a wangiri call?
A one-ring call from a foreign number designed to make you ring back. The call back connects to a premium line abroad and is charged at a high rate. Never return a missed call from an international number you do not recognise.
How do I stop nuisance calls in Ireland?
You can opt out of having your number used for marketing through the National Directory Database, ask any caller directly to remove you, and block persistent numbers on your handset. ComReg regulates nuisance calls and number misuse and takes complaints about them.
Where do I report a scam call or text in Ireland?
Report fraud to An Garda Síochána, and report nuisance calls, spoofing and premium-rate misuse to ComReg. If bank or card details have already been given, ring your bank immediately on the number printed on your card.
Guides on unknown numbers
Whose number is this?
Had a call or text from an unknown Irish number? The three approaches that actually work, and the point where a free search stops helping. 1M+ lookups.
Searching an Irish number for free
Which methods cost nothing on an Irish number, what each returns, and the point where a free search reliably stops being able to help. 1M+ lookups.
Who keeps calling me?
The same unknown Irish number ringing again and again? How to tell marketing from an automated dialler, a real person or a scam, and how to stop it.
Is this number a scam?
The signals that reliably identify an Irish phone scam, why wangiri keeps returning, and exactly what to do if money or details have already gone.
Spotting a fake delivery text
A text claiming a parcel is held and a customs fee is due. How the real An Post, DPD and Fastway messages differ from the fake ones. 1M+ lookups.
Is my partner on dating apps?
What a number or email address can genuinely reveal, what cannot be checked at all, and how to read a result without reading too much into it. 1M+ lookups.
Find out who is really behind the number
The check is private and takes about 60 seconds. The person is not notified and never finds out you looked.
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