Key facts
- Truecaller launched Scam Checker, a free web and Android service for identifying suspicious phone numbers, links, or messages.
- The service is initially available in India and will expand to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Southeast Asia.
- Scam Checker checks submitted links against Truecaller's proprietary risk database and other fraud signals.
- Users can paste suspicious messages into Scam Checker to identify phone numbers or links and find related reports.
- Truecaller estimates 14 million web searches are made monthly to check suspicious links and phone numbers.
- Around 20,000 scam reports are live on Truecaller's ScamFeed in India, with about 1,300 new reports weekly.
Truecaller, a company primarily known for its caller identification service, is expanding its offerings to combat the growing landscape of online scams. The Swedish firm launched Scam Checker, a free tool accessible via the web and Android, allowing users to verify suspicious phone numbers, links, or messages without requiring an app download or sign-in.
The service utilizes Truecaller's extensive community-sourced scam intelligence, known as ScamFeed, to identify fraudulent content. While detailed information like associated names remains exclusive to the paid app, Scam Checker aims to provide a quick verification method for consumers.
Initially available in India, the service is slated for expansion into Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Southeast Asia. This move is partly driven by the increasing prevalence of scams across multiple channels, including messaging apps, SMS, and web links, as indicated by a 2025 GSMA survey where 46% of Indian adults who reported being scammed were approached via messaging apps.
Truecaller estimates that approximately 14 million web searches are conducted monthly by individuals seeking to verify suspicious online content. The company's CEO, Rishit Jhunjhunwala, noted that users often search for verification in the moment they encounter a suspicious message, such as on WhatsApp or via forwarded screenshots. The ScamFeed currently hosts about 20,000 scam reports in India, with an additional 1,300 added weekly. Between September 14 and 20, Truecaller evaluated 12.9 billion messages globally, flagging 20.3 million as fraudulent.
This expansion comes as Truecaller's core caller ID business faces increased competition in India from telecom operators and tech giants like Apple and Google, alongside regulatory pressures. The company plans to enhance Scam Checker by broadening the types of scams it can detect and enabling screenshot uploads for analysis.