Tom Fisher, Chief Operating Officer, SharpenCX
Legitimate businesses are increasingly facing challenges as their calls are mistakenly labeled as “Spam Risk,” a situation that can severely impact communication efforts. On January 27, 2026, Tom Fisher, Chief Operating Officer of SharpenCX, discussed the mechanics behind spam labeling and its implications for organizations reliant on outbound communication.
How Spam Labeling Works
In the past, email spam dominated concerns about unwanted communication. Today, spam calls have become a pressing issue. Many businesses are caught off guard when their legitimate outreach efforts are flagged, resulting in calls going unanswered and voicemails piling up. Fisher explained that the root of this issue lies not within the phones themselves, but rather with wireless carriers, which utilize automated systems to analyze calling patterns across millions of numbers.
These systems evaluate factors such as call volume, frequency, and consumer complaints. While aimed at protecting consumers from fraud, the algorithms often fail to differentiate between malicious callers and legitimate businesses, leading to unnecessary labeling.
The Impact on Business Communication
When a number is marked as Spam Risk, the consequences can be significant. Calls may be redirected to voicemail or ignored, regardless of their legitimacy. This creates a disconnect that can frustrate agents and hinder productivity. Fisher noted that companies may mistakenly attribute declining answer rates to internal factors like scripts or agent performance, overlooking the external issue of spam labeling. The financial repercussions for organizations dependent on outbound communication can be substantial.
Factors contributing to spam labeling include high call volumes from a limited number of outgoing numbers and low answer rates, which trigger red flags in automated systems. Businesses often lack visibility into how carriers classify their outbound traffic, leaving them unaware of potential issues until it is too late.
Attempts to address this problem have historically involved manual interventions, such as monitoring call numbers and submitting requests to carriers. However, as automation and reputation scoring become more prevalent, these efforts can be inefficient and slow. By the time a business identifies a problem, the opportunity cost may already be significant.
Proactive Strategies for Managing Deliverability
Today, organizations must recognize that ensuring call deliverability is a strategic issue. It involves more than just what is communicated; it pertains to whether the message reaches its intended recipient. As businesses adapt to this evolving landscape, they are beginning to understand the importance of proactively managing their number reputation and monitoring systems.
Fisher emphasized that awareness is the first step. Leaders must grasp how spam labeling affects their operations and accept that even compliant practices can lead to their calls being misclassified. Platforms like SharpenCX are responding to this need by helping organizations manage outbound calling performance, focusing on number health and deliverability in an environment where trust is increasingly determined upstream.
For those interested in mitigating the Spam Risk label, SharpenCX offers a free guide within its Sharpen Studio resource library. This guide details how spam labels occur, the remediation process, and strategies for protecting outbound communications on a larger scale.
As the landscape of communication evolves, businesses must remain vigilant to ensure their outbound efforts are effective and that their messages are not lost in the noise of spam labeling.
