South Africa records 17.47 billion spam calls in first half of 2026

South Africa saw a significant rise in spam calls, with 17.47 billion calls recorded during the first half of 2026, a 25.2% increase from the previous year. Truecaller, a caller identification and spam protection platform, reported that while the volume of spam calls increased, the proportion of calls answered by users decreased, falling to 7.8% from 10.2% in the same period in 2025.

The company attributed the rise to increasingly sophisticated tactics employed by scammers, including caller ID spoofing and the use of generative AI. Truecaller users blocked 7.18 billion of these calls, a 58.6% increase compared to the previous year. Additionally, the platform identified 3.71 billion spam text messages, a 58.9% increase year-on-year, and detected 559 million new spam numbers between March and June 2026.

Truecaller's Director of Market Development for South Africa, Mmathebe Zvobwo, warned that scam networks are becoming more sophisticated, using AI-driven tactics to appear legitimate. The company encourages users to avoid engaging with unknown numbers, refrain from sharing sensitive information, and report suspicious activities to strengthen protection for other users.

Brief written by urgent.news from IOL's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.