Over Half of Nigeria’s Unknown Calls Are Spam, Truecaller Reveals

New data from Truecaller shows that in 2025, 51% of all unknown calls in Nigeria were flagged as spam or fraud. That means more than one in every two unfamiliar calls is likely unwanted or malicious. Nigeria now ranks 8th globally and tops Africa, ahead of South Africa (30%), Kenya (15%), Ghana (11%), and Ethiopia (9%). Indonesia leads worldwide with 79% of unknown calls marked as spam. The report highlights that telecom-related outreach drives 35% of spam in Nigeria—the highest in Africa—followed by telemarketing (10%) and outright scams (6%). This mix makes it hard for users to tell legitimate network updates from fraudulent attempts. Only Brazil shows a similar pattern, suggesting that some telecom ecosystems may be fueling the problem. The blending of operator messages and scam calls risks users ignoring important alerts or falling victim to deception.

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