Spam calls up 191% in 7 months - we now get 11.3 per month

Why is this happening? Lester Kiewit interviews of tech journalist Brendyn Lotz. (Spare a thought for the Brazilians.)

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Spam or robocalls – those from unknown numbers usually disturbing you during workhours – have increased by 191% in just seven months.

Why are we getting so many of these calls, asked Amy MacIver in an interview of Brendyn Lotz, a tech journalist from HTXT Africa.

Lotz spoke about the latest Truecaller Insights report for 2020, which noted the extreme increase in the number of spam calls in South Africa.

South Africa ranks 17th (out of 20 countries surveyed) in the number of these calls received.

In Brazil, people get an average of 49.9 spam calls per month compared to 11.3 spam calls per month in South Africa.

There is definitely a problem… Brazil is a hotbed for spam calls… We aren’t as bad as other parts of the world…

Brendyn Lotz, tech journalist - HTXT Africa

Outright insurance scams account for 28% of spam calls. Insurance spam accounts for 32%... Just before this interview, I received a spam call! It’s a problem…

Brendyn Lotz, tech journalist - HTXT Africa

Sometimes they can be incredibly convincing… People do fall for these scams… Especially with lockdown and folks being desperate…

Brendyn Lotz, tech journalist - HTXT Africa

Download a service such as Truecaller…

Brendyn Lotz, tech journalist - HTXT Africa

It does definitely [make you more vulnerable to spam if you use social media] …

Brendyn Lotz, tech journalist - HTXT Africa

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

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