+90 850 numbers: Turkey's 0850 company lines

A +90 850 (0850) number is a Turkish location-independent number: BTK defines it as a number with no geographic meaning, used for services offered regardless of location. Companies use 0850 lines for call centres, so an 0850 call is usually a business such as a bank, airline, retailer or telemarketer.

Turkey · Non-geographic numbers · Facts checked November 9, 2026

What these numbers look like

From abroad: +90 850 XXX XX XX
Inside Turkey: 0850 XXX XX XX

10 digits after +90, like every Turkish number. 850 sits in place of a city area code.

Who uses +90 850 numbers?

BTK (the Information and Communication Technologies Authority) defines 850 numbers as non-geographic, location-independent numbers. They are reserved to licensed operators in blocks of 10,000 and allocated in blocks of at least 1,000; the operator then assigns individual numbers to business customers. BTK's numbering plan, as notified to the ITU in 2018, lists 850 as "nomadic numbers". Non-geographic numbers have been portable between operators since 2009.

Who is calling you from a +90 850 number?

Usually a company's call centre: banks, airlines, utilities, e-commerce firms and telemarketers all use 0850 lines because one number works nationwide. Marketing calls need your prior consent under BTK's rules on communications for marketing purposes, and since April 2026 operators and their dealers may call only their own subscribers. BTK has also changed its caller-ID rules so that SMS can no longer be sent with an 850 or geographic number as the sender ID, so an SMS that appears to come from an 0850 number deserves extra suspicion.

Scams seen with +90 850 numbers

Unwanted marketing calls from 0850 lines were the subject of a parliamentary request for a BTK report, and BTK has since tightened the rules: under changes announced in April 2026, SMS with a purely numeric sender ID (including 850 numbers) will not be delivered, and operators that break the rules can have call carriage and termination suspended.

What to do about a call from +90 850

If the caller claims to be your bank, hang up and call the bank's number from its official website or your card.
Withdraw consent for commercial calls and messages and complain about unauthorised ones through the İleti Yönetim Sistemi (İYS) via e-Devlet.
Complain to BTK through its online consumer complaint system (tuketicisikayet.btk.gov.tr) if an operator-related issue is not resolved.
Block the number on your phone. Many operators also offer network-level blocking.

Check the exact number

A series tells you what kind of line called. To check the full number you got, use these free tools:

Phone number validator: which country, mobile or landline, and whether the length is right.
Spam number checker: warning signs that a caller is a scammer.
Who called me? Reverse phone lookup: what the number tells you about the caller.
Turkey country code +90: full dialing guide and number formats.
Calling Turkey from abroad: per-minute rates if you need to call someone there.

Frequently asked questions

Is an 0850 number a scam?

Not by itself. 0850 is an official BTK number range used widely by banks and call centres. Treat any request for passwords or card details as a scam, whatever the number.

Is calling an 0850 number free?

Not necessarily. Turkey's freephone range is 0800, and 0850 is not a freephone range, so check your tariff before calling.

Why can't I tell which city an 0850 number is in?

850 numbers have no geographic meaning. The same number can be answered anywhere in Turkey.

Can I block all 0850 calls?

You can block individual numbers on your phone. To stop marketing calls, withdraw consent in İYS and report unauthorised calls there.

Sources

Numbering facts on this page come from the regulator or operator sources below, checked November 9, 2026. We never publish individual personal phone numbers.

BTK - Konumdan Bağımsız Numaralar (15 Dec 2017) (btk.gov.tr)
BTK - Location-Independent Numbers (English) (btk.gov.tr)
ITU - Turkey (country code +90), ICTA communication of 2.III.2018 (itu.int)
BTK Kurul Kararı 09.07.2015 - Pazarlama ve tanıtım gibi amaçlarla haberleşme yapılmasına ilişkin usul ve esaslar (btk.gov.tr)
Anadolu Ajansı - Rahatsız edici SMS ve aramalara karşı yeni tedbirler devrede (2 April 2026) (aa.com.tr)
TRT Haber - 0850'li hatlardan taciz: Meclis BTK'dan rapor istedi (trthaber.com)
İleti Yönetim Sistemi (İYS) (iys.org.tr)
BTK - Tüketici şikayet sistemi (tuketicisikayet.btk.gov.tr)