South African phone number lookup (+27)

Who called you from +27? Look up any South Africa mobile, landline or toll-free number to see the carrier, line type, region and spam reports — free and anonymous.

Unknown calls from South Africa

South Africans receive a heavy volume of sales calls offering insurance, funeral cover, loans and contract upgrades, often from call centres using a different number each time. Mixed in with these are fraud attempts: callers posing as bank security staff asking for one-time PINs, fake SARS officials, and attempts to take over a phone number through a SIM swap. Because legitimate businesses and scammers both use ordinary 06, 07 and 08 mobiles and 087 VoIP numbers, it’s hard to tell them apart at a glance. Looking up a number shows its type and whether others have reported it.

South Africa phone numbers at a glance

Country calling code: +27
Trunk prefix: 0
Number format: Ten digits including the leading 0. Landlines start with an area code such as 011 (Johannesburg) or 021 (Cape Town); mobiles start 06, 07 or 08. Drop the 0 after +27.
Example (national): 082 123 4567
Example (international): +27 82 123 4567
Emergency number: 10111 (police), 10177 (ambulance), 112 from mobiles
Telecom regulator: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)

To call a South African number from abroad, drop the leading 0 and dial +27 first: 082 123 4567 becomes +27 82 123 4567. A missed call showing +27 at the start came from a South Africa number.

How to tell what kind of South African number called you

Mobile numbers

Type	Starts with	Notes
Mobile	060–063, 071–074, 076, 078, 079	Common mobile ranges. Number portability means the prefix doesn’t reliably identify the network.
Mobile	081–084	Further mobile ranges, including the long-established 082, 083 and 084 numbers.

Toll-free, premium and special numbers

Type	Starts with	Notes
Toll-free	0800	Free to call from landlines in South Africa; calls from mobiles may still be charged depending on the network.
Share-call and maxi-call	0860, 0861	Business numbers where the caller pays a standard rate. Common for banks, insurers and retailers.
VoIP / non-geographic	087	Internet-based numbers used widely by call centres and businesses. Easy to obtain, so frequently seen on telemarketing calls.

Mobile networks in South Africa

Numbers can be ported between networks, so the prefix alone does not prove which carrier a number is on today. A WhoCallsMe lookup reads the current carrier of record. The main mobile operators are:

Vodacom
MTN
Cell C
Telkom

Common phone scams in South Africa

Fake bank security calls

A caller claims to be from your bank’s fraud or security department and says a suspicious transaction has been detected. To ‘cancel’ it, they ask you to read out a one-time PIN or approve a notification in your banking app. That OTP is actually authorizing a payment. Banks never ask for it over the phone.

SARS refund and penalty scams

Messages and calls claim to be from SARS, offering a tax refund or warning of penalties, and request banking details or eFiling passwords. SARS does not send links asking for bank details or demand payment over the phone. Log in to eFiling directly to check your status.

SIM swap fraud

Criminals gather your personal details, then persuade a network to move your number onto a new SIM. Once they control it, they receive your banking OTPs. Warning signs include your phone suddenly losing signal. Contact your network and bank at once if that happens unexpectedly.

Report scam calls in South Africa

Report fraud to the South African Police Service and your bank’s fraud line immediately. Unwanted direct marketing can be reported to the Information Regulator, and identity fraud can be flagged with the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS).

Stop unwanted calls

There is no government-run do-not-call register in operation. The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa runs a National Opt-Out Register that its members must honour, and POPIA lets you insist that a company stops contacting you.

South Africa number lookup FAQ

Why do I get so many calls from 087 numbers?+

087 numbers are VoIP lines that are cheap and easy to set up, so call centres use them heavily for sales and debt collection. Some belong to legitimate businesses, others to aggressive telemarketers. Check the number before calling back, and ask any caller to remove you from their list under POPIA.

How do I tell if a South African number is a mobile?+

Mobile numbers start with 06, 07 or 08 after the leading zero, for example 082 or 072. Landlines use area codes such as 011, 012 or 021, while 0800, 0860 and 087 are business or non-geographic ranges.

Who called me from +27?+

+27 is South Africa’s country code. Drop +27 and add a 0 to see the local format; +27 82 becomes 082, a mobile. If you have no South African contacts, take care, as scammers sometimes call internationally from these numbers.