There’s so much to know about VoIP technology. We’re going to help you understand all the ins and outs of VoIP calls, from the definition of Voice over IP telephony to the ways you can protect yourself against VoIP scammers. For quick access to any of the topics, we’ll be covering, simply click one of the links below.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a type of technology used in communications. It’s essentially a way to place calls over the internet. It uses a Wi-Fi or a broadband connection instead of the cellular or landline connection that a traditional phone call would use.

VoIP systems take the analog sounds of you speaking into your cell phone, office phone, or laptop mic, and convert them into digital signals.

The main difference between VoIP phones and traditional phone lines is that a VoIP phone system only needs a functioning internet service to work. A traditional telephone relies on telephone lines and/or a cellular connection, which might be patchy depending on the caller’s physical location.

VoIP calls are an example of voice-based telecommunication that happens via an internet connection. Accordingly, VoIP callers are people who place VoIP calls.

These voice calls can be placed and taken using any compatible device. That means you can, for example, use softphone software (a kind of virtual phone tool you can access on a PC, laptop, etc.) to make VoIP calls to other people’s desk phones, provided you have access to the right phone numbers.

There are a few key differences between VoIP calls and conventional calls, just as there are differences between VoIP phones and traditional hard phones. We’re going to take a closer look at those just below.

You can benefit from lots of features with the right VoIP phone system. Some of the best ones include:

• VoIP calling
• VoIP caller ID
• VoIP phone number

VoIP calling

This seems obvious, but it’s important to mention! VoIP phones let you place and take all your calls over the internet.

That means you never have to worry about the factors you’d otherwise need to consider to keep a traditional phone connected, since you’ll be able to connect your calls at any time provided you’ve got an internet connection of any kind.

VoIP caller ID

When you place a call using your VoIP phone, you’ll receive a VoIP caller ID. That means your call will register as one that’s coming from a VoIP device to your conversation partner(s), since the receivers’ devices will register your IP address as a VoIP-based one.

This helps when it comes to knowing what to expect. If your partners know you’ll be calling from a VoIP device, they can protect themselves from fraud by ignoring any calls from regular phone numbers.

VoIP phone number

These are numbers that are assigned to individuals instead of to devices.

In other words, with VoIP phone numbers, you can call from one single number across your phone, laptop, tablet, and other devices. That means you can smoothly transition between devices during calls without having to go through the call transfer process.

With a non-fixed VoIP number, you’re also not bound to a single geographical location the way you would be with fixed VoIP. That boosts your flexibility even further.

A good indication of VoIP fraud is if a VoIP caller keeps calling and you don’t know who they are. If they call repeatedly and don’t have any caller identification, that makes it more likely that the calls are actually attempted fraud attacks.

You can protect against VoIP fraud by always checking the caller ID on incoming calls before you pick them up. That way, you can ensure you only take phone calls from trusted sources.

It’s also helpful to let your legitimate callers know when you’re looking to receive calls. That way, you can identify calls that arrive outside your designated window as spam calls and stop VoIP calls accordingly.

You should always double-check the area code on any incoming call. If it’s an unexpected long-distance call, it’s more likely to be fraudulent.

Lastly, it’s always worth keeping up to date on the latest guidance from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) on the subject.