Your phone rings. It’s an unknown number. You stare at the screen, let it ring out and wait to see if a WhatsApp message follows. Sound familiar? You’re not alone – and you’re part of a growing problem for South Africa’s mobile operators. The reflex to reject or ignore unfamiliar callers has become so deeply…
Truecaller hits 500 million users while blocking billions of AI-driven spam calls. (Source: Google Gemini) Global communications platform Truecaller has surpassed 500 million monthly active users, marking a significant growth phase as digital fraud and AI-generated scams escalate worldwide. The Stockholm-headquartered firm added more than 50 million users in 2025 alone, with 150 million of…
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has proposed opt-out registry legislation to block unwanted direct marketing communication. The Information Regulator is creating regulatory confusion because it wants spam telemarketing to fall under its ambit, while the industry says it has no legal authority to take up the fight against illegal marketing callers. This issue…
Data privacy and unlawful interception of information laws prevent South Africa’s mobile operators from getting tougher in the first against spam calls at the network layer – but interventions taken in international markets including Australia suggests more can still be done. TechCentral reported last week that South Africa’s spam call epidemic is getting worse, despite…
Ask most South Africans and they’ll tell you the country’s spam call epidemic is getting worse. Despite multipronged efforts to keep the problem at bay, telemarketers continue to plague phone users with endless spam calls. Telemarketers, scammers and robocalls persist in the face of third-party applications like Truecaller, efforts by device manufacturers to block spam…
