Truecaller launches AI-powered SMS Fraud protection in India

Truecaller, the world’s leading global communications platform, introduces intelligent warnings to protect consumers against all possible scams and frauds that circulate via SMS. Truecaller has been warning users about potential fraudulent phone calls for over a decade. For SMS Truecaller have  previously been relying on community-driven feedback to tackle spam. Now, with the rise in SMS fraud, Truecaller has also initiated Fraud Protection: an active effort that combines user feedback with Truecallers proprietary machine learning intelligence to effectively combat fraudulent messages and senders.

Fraud protection is especially helpful for people who may not know how to spot fraud and mistakenly believe they are dealing with legitimate businesses. Currently available to all Android users in India, Fraud Protection intelligently recognizes fraudulent senders and messages. Truecallers system also adapts to automatically discover new forms of fraud, even without user reports.

Unlike regular spam, frauds and scams are often malicious in nature. There are always new types of fraud around, especially in the name of legitimate businesses. This often leads to victims getting duped of money within a fraction of a second.

How Fraud Protection Works:

Truecaller estimates that over 100 million people using Truecaller have received at least one fraudulent SMS over the past three months. These frauds range from electricity bill payments, banks, job offers, KYC related, loans, charity, lottery and many other types.

Fraud Protection is completely free and available to all Truecaller users across India. For every single fraudulent message that a user receives, Truecaller will show a clearly marked red notification, warning the user not to take action. The notification will remain on screen till it is manually dismissed. It is important to note that Truecaller does not upload any messages. All processing happens locally on the device, thanks to our advanced AI filters.

Even if the user misses the warning and opens the fraudulent SMS, Truecaller automatically disables all links. The SMS thread will only be accessible if the user explicitly marks that sender as safe. This adds yet another layer of protection against fraud.

What sets Fraud Protection Apart?

• Truecaller has been analysing fraud for many years and has developed advanced artificial intelligence technology to predict them. We call this Fraud Intelligence.
• Truecallers community of 338 Million helps us stay ahead of the latest frauds since we get daily feedback on SMS fraud from many thousands of users.
• Unlike other SMS applications, Truecaller partners with the government and businesses to ensure safe and efficient communication. Legitimate senders are verified on Truecaller by a verified badge and prominent green colour.
• Businesses and various Government agencies trust us by sending us regular scam reports, allowing us to further improve fraud detection.

By using Truecaller as the default messaging app, users can be rest assured that they clearly recognise legitimate businesses and are protected against the latest frauds.  

As a user you can help other users and play your part in the community by reporting fraudulent messages within the app. It also helps greatly if you can spread the message to friends and family so that they can be aware and protected against the latest frauds.

Fraud Protection is currently being launched in India but Truecaller are exploring other markets where fraud is a major issue and will prioritise them accordingly. 

For more information, please contact:

Andreas Frid, Head of IR & Communication

+46 705 290800
andreas.frid@truecaller.com

About Truecaller:
Truecaller (TRUE B) is the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication. We enable safe and relevant conversations between people and make it efficient for businesses to connect with consumers. Fraud and unwanted communication are endemic to digital economies, especially in emerging markets. We are on a mission to build trust in communication. Truecaller is an essential part of everyday communication for more than 338 million active users, with more than a billion downloads since launch and around 50 billion unwanted calls identified and blocked in 2021. Headquartered in Stockholm, since 2009, we are a co-founder-led, entrepreneurial company, with a highly experienced management team. Truecaller has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 8 October 2021. For more information, please visit corporate.truecaller.com