Truecaller now lets family members end scam calls remotely: All the details

Truecaller

• Truecaller introduces global group scam call protection
• Admins can remotely end flagged scam calls for Android users
• Feature is free, supports up to five members per group

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Caller identity platform Truecaller has introduced a new safety feature that allows one person in a family or friends group to act as an admin and help protect others from potential scam calls.

The feature enables the admin to receive alerts when other group members get calls flagged as potentially fraudulent. If the admin suspects the call could lead to a scam, they can even remotely end the call to prevent harm.

Truecaller first rolled out the feature in December in a limited set of countries including Sweden, Chile, Malaysia and Kenya. After early feedback and usage results, the company has now expanded the feature globally, including in India, which remains its largest market.

The company says the feature is free to use and does not require a paid Truecaller subscription. Users can create a group of up to five members, with one person acting as the group admin.

Once the group is set up and members join, the admin will receive alerts whenever the system detects a potentially fraudulent call being received by any of the members.

If the admin believes the call could be harmful, they can remotely end the call. However, this ability is currently limited to members using Android devices. Fraud alerts themselves are available for both Android and iOS users.

Truecaller has also added additional monitoring options for Android users who grant permission. In those cases, the admin can view certain real-time phone information such as whether the member is walking or driving, the phone’s battery level, and whether the device is set to silent mode.

According to the company, these signals can help admins — often the more tech-savvy member of a family — decide the right time to contact relatives, particularly elderly family members.

The admin also gets the ability to block specific phone numbers or international calling codes and share a blocklist across the entire group.

Truecaller emphasised that the feature is designed with privacy limits. Admins cannot access the regular call history or SMS messages of other group members, and only receive alerts related to calls flagged as spam or fraudulent.