South Africans bombarded with 50,000 spam calls a day
Global number identifier and spam prevention app, Truecaller has noted that its community has reported over 800,000 spam calls in South Africa, with 50,000 per day.
Spammers are becoming more adept at harassing and taking advantage of smartphone users in country, the group said.
Truecaller purports to fight against such spam calls by allowing users to report spam and unwanted numbers, and blocking them permanently.
“That information is listed in our database and we report it to Truecaller’s community of users, providing a safe and secure communication experience for all South Africans with easy, hassle-free calls,” it said.
Other ways to fight spam
The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMA) also offers a way to prevent spam calls, messages and emails by signing up to the National Opt-out Database.
The database makes sure your address, email address, telephone and cell number are no longer available to organisations, who are members of the DMA, who want to make offers and send information that you do not wish to receive.
Registration on the database requires a lot of sensitive details, including a South African ID number and a valid email address or phone number.
It must be noted that not all all telemarketers are registered with the DMA, though.
The Consumer Protection Act states the everyone has the right to refuse, stop, or block any direct marketing communications.
“Once a consumer has been contacted by a telemarketer, they may request that the caller stop making contact, which the telemarketer must abide by.”
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