WhatsApp users in India have recently taken to social media to report spam audio and video calls from international numbers, which offer easy-do-do jobs such as clicking likes on YouTube.
Union minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar had reported to have sent a notice to WhatsApp regarding the unsolicited calls and messages.
In its defence, WhatsApp in its statement said, “We are fully aligned with the government’s goal of keeping users safe….” The company statement pointed to its “stay safe with WhatsApp” campaign to educate users about the in-built safety features on the platform like two-step verification, block, report and privacy control.
LocalCircles recently conducted a survey on the issue, and found 46% India said they are receiving unsolicited audio and video calls; 83% that they have been getting them in the last 30 days.
Breakdown of data shows that 21% of respondents have witnessed no change in the last 30 days; 17% shared that such audio or video calls have increased by up to 20%; 25% claimed that it has increased by 20-50%; a small 4% of respondents indicated that it has increased by 50-100%; 8% of respondents indicated an increase of 100-500% and what is alarming is that 4% of those surveyed shared that the unsolicited audio and video calls have increased more than 500%.
When asked what type of unknown numbers from which users were receiving WhatsApp calls, 59% respondents confirmed that these calls are primarily coming from international numbers. The data shows that 37% of respondents are receiving audio or video calls from mostly international numbers and some from domestic numbers; 23% are receiving such scam calls mostly from domestic numbers and some international numbers; 22% are getting calls only from international numbers and 18% only from domestic numbers.
It can be concluded from the survey that the menace of WhatsApp calls from unsolicited numbers has risen exponentially in the last few weeks.
WhatsApp must not only apply AI/ML but also make it easier for a user to report such activity and if multiple users report a scamming number in a short period, take appropriate blocking actions.
The survey received nearly 23,000 responses from WhatsApp users located in 323 districts of India. 63% respondents were men while 37% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 32% from tier 2 and 23% respondents were from tier 3, 4 & rural districts.
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