diff --git a/can/io/canutils.py b/can/io/canutils.py
index fa96fcb9d..0cca82eb8 100644
--- a/can/io/canutils.py
+++ b/can/io/canutils.py
@@ -160,6 +160,8 @@ def on_message_received(self, msg):
             timestamp = msg.timestamp
 
         channel = msg.channel if msg.channel is not None else self.channel
+        if isinstance(channel, int) or isinstance(channel, str) and channel.isdigit():
+            channel = f"can{channel}"
 
         framestr = "(%f) %s" % (timestamp, channel)