Most spam calls and text messages received by subscribers in the first 10 months of the year originated from telecommunications operators in Nigeria, a report published by Truecaller on Tuesday said.
Truecaller, a caller identity and spam detection firm, said analyses of calls and SMS marked as spam by users indicated that 85 per cent of the calls and messages were from network operators.
It said the investigation done between January and October 30 showed that 12 per cent of the spam calls and messages were scams while three per cent were from telemarketing firms.
“Of the spam calls and SMS received monthly by Truecaller users in Nigeria, 12 per cent were scams. Calls and messages from operators made up 85 per cent and telemarketing accounted for only three per cent of spam calls and SMS,” the Truecaller Insights Report 2019 stated.
The industry regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission, created a Do-Not-Disturb Code (2442) to enable consumers to deactivate the receipt of unsolicited messages in response to consumers’ complaints regarding spam messages.
Insights from the report also indicated that Nigeria was one of the top 20 countries affected by spam calls and SMS globally.
According to the study, the average Truecaller user in Nigeria receives 8.4 spam calls per month, which is 20 per cent higher than last year.
This year, it said Brazil topped the list, with the average Truecaller user receiving 45.6 spam calls monthly.
Findings by Truecaller showed that Brazil was followed by Peru and Indonesia at 30.9 and 27.9 spam calls, respectively.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt were the other African countries affected by spam calls, with the Egypt having the least record of spam calls in 2019.
For spam SMS, Truecaller said Nigeria ranked seventh among the top 20 countries affected.
“The average Truecaller user in Nigeria received 65 spam SMS per month. However, Ethiopia came tops with the average Truecaller user receiving 119 spam SMS per month, followed by South Africa with 114 and Kenya with 102 spam SMS monthly,” the report stated.
Truecaller said nine countries in Africa and nine countries in Asia dominated the list of recipients of spam SMS with Brazil and Colombia emerging as the only American countries on the list.
