There has been a surge in SMS fraud cases reported in recent days across the country, where scammers are sending fraudulent text messages to unsuspecting individuals, requesting them to update their bank account, PAN, Aadhaar, or other related documents. These messages are designed to trick people into falling for the scammers’ schemes and potentially compromising their personal and financial information. Police and cyber cells are continuously warning people and raising awareness about viral scams. However, recently, Truecaller has also launched a new feature to help people warn about possible fraudulent numbers.
According to Truecaller, over 100 million people using the app have received at least one fraudulent SMS over the past three months, ranging from electricity bill payments to banks, job offers, KYC-related loans, charity, lottery, and many other types. In order to combat this web of SMS fraud and possible scams through mobile, the new AI-driven fraud protection tool, “Fraud Protection,” from Truecaller uses user feedback and machine learning to intelligently recognise fraudulent senders and messages.
The fraud protection tool is particularly helpful for people who find it difficult to spot fraud and mistakenly believe they are dealing with legitimate businesses. The tool is said to be effective in discovering new forms of fraud, even without user reports. It is currently available for all Android users and is expected to be available for iPhone users in the near future.
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 until it is manually dismissed. Truecaller’s Fraud Protection Tool is completely free and available to all Android users across India. It is important to note that Truecaller does not upload any messages, and all processing happens locally on the device with the help of AI filters.
If a user misses the warning and opens the fraudulent SMS, Truecaller’s AI tool will automatically disable all links linked to that SMS so that users are safe from the malicious links. However, if the SMS is safe, users can manually mark the sender safe to access all the links attached to the message. This offers another layer of protection against fraud. Truecaller’s Fraud Protection tool is a valuable addition to the fight against SMS fraud and scams and will undoubtedly help protect many unsuspecting individuals from falling prey to scammers.