if it was important they'd leave a vm, ya'know?

One time I got 3 calls over the course of two days from a number my phone identified as "Scam Likely" and then a text from my friend saying "I put you down as a reference for a job at the Department of Defense can you call them back?"

I googled one once after it left an obvious scam voicemail which led me to the virtual phone number providers site. I looked at reporting it on the FCCs website, but reporting there is a PIA. You have to fill out a big form to create a report. The virtual number providers site had it's own report page which took 2 seconds to fill out. Later that day I got an email saying they take it seriously, it's a Google voice number or something and they're opening an investigation. The next day I get an email saying they concluded their investigation and the number was disconnected and the account terminated. It was kinda satisfying, though I doubt it impacted the scammer much.

If I don't get a text or voice-mail right after the missed call, that's how I know it was a scammer. If someone really wants to contact me they'll try option B

Never, ever answer a call to your cell phone that you don't expect. If it's legitimate they will leave a message.

This is one step more than I do: If someone calls me there is a 99% chance it's spam so I never answer. If they do not leave a voicemail, I am 100% not calling them back.

It's because scammers have basically ruined an entire method of communication, and the FCC is just OK with it.

My experience with scam callers has been that if you pick it up, they will keep calling because they flag your line as live. At one point, back when I'd answer and threaten to report them, it would be at least one call an hour, every single day. Since I stopped picking up, I rarely get calls anymore unless there's a data leak with a company I use. Then I'll see a little ramp up for a month or two before it dies down again.

Surely this person "Scam Likely" has some very important info for me

It's probably my phone number, I get endless people phoning and saying they have a missed call. I presume it's scammers faking my number