- India ranks fifth globally for spam-affected countries.
- Telemarketing, sales, and financial scams dominate Indian spam.
- Automated systems and AI are making spam harder to detect.
- Truecaller aims to strengthen detection and expand household protection.
India has emerged as one of the most spam-affected countries in the world, ranking fifth globally in the latest report released by Truecaller. The country trails Indonesia, Chile, Vietnam, and Brazil, all of which reported even higher levels of unwanted calls. The findings are based on anonymised and aggregated insights from Truecaller’s vast user base of over 500 million people worldwide. The scale of the issue is staggering. In 2025 alone, the platform flagged more than 68 billion spam and fraudulent calls across the globe.
India’s own numbers paint a worrying picture. The country recorded a spam intensity of 66 percent, placing it firmly among the worst-hit markets. A closer look at the data shows that telemarketing and sales calls dominate spam activity at 36 percent, followed by financial services at 18 percent. Scam-related calls account for 12 percent, underlining a growing fraud ecosystem targeting everyday users.
Global Trends Show Spam Is Getting Smarter
The report highlights that spam patterns differ significantly across regions, reflecting local economic and behavioural trends. In countries like Indonesia and Mexico, more than 40 percent of spam calls are linked to financial institutions, including banks and lenders. Chile stands out with debt collection calls making up 38 percent of spam traffic, the highest share for a single category globally.
In Brazil and Nigeria, telecom-related spam calls are the most common, often blurring the line between legitimate communication and fraud. These variations point to a broader trend where spam tactics are becoming more tailored and harder to detect.
The report also signals a major shift in how spam operates today. Automated systems have largely replaced human callers, enabling fraudsters to scale operations at unprecedented levels. The rise of machine-driven calls means users are increasingly unable to trust unknown numbers.
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‘A Fundamental Breakdown In Communication’
Rishit Jhunjhunwala, CEO of Truecaller, highlighted the seriousness of the situation, stating, “The scale of what this data shows should concern everyone. Fraud, impersonation, and scams are affecting people’s daily lives in a way we have never seen before. In some countries, most unknown calls are now spam – that is a fundamental breakdown in how communication works. Our mission is to build trust in communication, and in 2026, we are focused on stopping fraud before it reaches people,”
The report notes that the global spam landscape has evolved rapidly over the past few years. Back in 2021, Truecaller identified 37.8 billion spam calls with around 300 million users. By 2025, that number has nearly doubled to over 68 billion calls, alongside a sharp increase in users worldwide.
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AI, Automation And The Future Of Scam Calls
Looking ahead, the report warns that spam calls are set to become even more sophisticated. AI-generated voice calls are making it harder to distinguish between real and fake interactions. Scam scripts are evolving faster, and automation is lowering the barrier for fraud operations to scale.
At the same time, legitimate businesses are also facing challenges. As trust in unknown calls declines, even genuine outreach is increasingly being ignored.
Truecaller says its focus for 2026 will be on strengthening real-time detection, expanding protection across households, and leveraging community-driven insights to identify threats faster.
The takeaway is clear. Spam is no longer just an annoyance. It is a rapidly evolving global threat that is reshaping how people communicate, and India is right at the centre of it.
