WhatsApp releases statement on international scam calls

Claims that international fraud calls to reduce by 50%

May 11, 2023 08:03:00 PM | Article | Campaign India Team Share -

WhatsApp has released a statement regarding scam calls users are facing on the app.

WhatsApp users in the country have seen a surge in incoming international spam video and audio calls, following which the IT Ministry was to send a notice to WhatsApp.

A WhatsApp spokesperson stated that it is using AI and ML to reduce these incidents of spam by around 50%.

The statement added that the Meta aims to protect the security and privacy of users.

Here's the full statement:

Protecting the privacy and security of users is fundamental to Meta and to WhatsApp. Our users are at the heart of everything we do and we are fully aligned with the Government's goal of keeping users safe. WhatsApp is a leader among end-to-end encrypted services in protecting user safety.

We continue to provide several safety tools within WhatsApp like Block & Report, consistently build user safety education and awareness, as well as, proactively weed out bad-actors from our platform. However, bad actors find different ways to scam users. International scam calls is a new way that bad actors have recently adopted. By giving a missed call, they lead curious users to call or message back only to get scammed.

Therefore, we have quickly ramped up our AI & ML systems to bring down such incidents significantly. Our new enforcement will reduce the current calling rate by at least 50% and we expect to be able to control the current incidence effectively. We will continue to work relentlessly towards ensuring a safe experience for our users.