truecaller will implement its service whatsapp caller id in order to avoid fraud. According to a report from Reuters, the company is already testing the integration and plans to launch it at the end of May. The idea is that users can recognize unwanted calls and block themas is the case with the dedicated application.
The company will use AI to detect spam calls and will take action on accounts that have abnormal behavior. Truecaller said that WhatsApp users will be able to block and report problem numbers. Although there are no specific details about this integration, the description makes us think that it will work in a similar way to what the app does in conventional calls.
The new feature matches the increase in unwanted calls by WhatsApp, a practice that has grown like foam in recent years. According to data from a 2021 study, countries like India receive up to 17 spam calls every month. Alan Mamedi, executive director of Truecaller, revealed that in the last two weeks the reports increased considerably.
We see these patterns occur globally. This is how scammers get people to answer calls. They have found platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram to carry them out. Let’s remember that for them it is a full time job, so they will discover new ways to reach consumers.
Mamedi warned about the possibility of fraudsters using voices generated by artificial intelligence. “It’s going to be a big problem if they start adding voice assistance using AI models to these calls and pretending to be someone you know,” she said. An ABC News report showed how an Arizona woman was the victim of a virtual kidnapping with this technology.
WhatsApp is the new weapon of scammers
In a world where calls and SMS messages have taken a backseat, it makes sense for Truecaller to focus on WhatsApp or Telegram. According to CNBCthe Telemarketers and scammers are migrating to messaging apps to surprise their victims. Some agencies package and sell phone numbers from other countries to be used in spam calls.
WhatsApp already has a spam detection system and blocks numbers that engage in unusual behavior. However, the company processes less than 20% of the reports it receives in conflictive countries, such as India. This has led to companies like Truecaller trying to solve the problem in the same way they have done with conventional calls.
The question is that getting rid of unwanted calls could lead to privacy issues. An investigation published in October 2022 found that Truecaller collects data from its users without their consent and some organizations in India accused it of moving its servers out of Europe in order to avoid the GDPR. The Swedish company denied these practices and assured that it complies with data laws.
The identification of unwanted calls in WhatsApp and Telegram is now available as beta for Truecaller users on Android. At the moment there is no information about the iOS version, although the company launched Live Caller ID a few weeks ago. This feature relies on Siri to ask you to identify if the calling number is spam.