Truecaller: Spam Call Blocker

Truecaller is the best known caller identification service, and its advantage is straightforward: the size of its database. Identification works by matching numbers against records built from a very large user base, which means it recognises numbers that smaller services have never seen. For spam and scam detection specifically, scale is the whole game, since a fraudulent number is only known to be fraudulent once enough people have reported it. Automatic blocking stops telemarketers, robocallers and suspicious numbers before your phone rings. Reverse number lookup answers the other question: who was that missed call from, which you can check without calling back and confirming to a scammer that your number is live. The AI Call Scanner addresses a threat that barely existed a few years ago. Voice cloning has made scam calls using synthesised speech practical, including calls imitating a relative in distress. The scanner attempts to distinguish a human voice from a synthesised one during a call, which is a genuinely useful defence against a fraud that people fall for precisely because it sounds like somebody they know. Call recording is included where local law permits it, and recording rules vary considerably by country and are worth checking. The app is free with advertising, and a paid subscription removes it and adds further features. It is worth understanding how the identification works: the database is built partly from user data, and the privacy policy deserves reading before installing rather than after.