Truecaller brings scam checks to the open web with Scam Checker

Truecaller has launched Scam Checker, a web and Android service that lets people check suspicious phone numbers, links and messages without an app or sign-in. The Swedish company says it is initially available in India, with plans to expand to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Users can paste a link for the service to expand shortened URLs, follow redirects and check the destination against Truecaller’s proprietary risk database and other fraud signals. Pasted messages can be scanned for phone numbers or links, with related reports shown from ScamFeed, Truecaller’s community feed. More detailed phone-number information, including an associated name, still requires signing in to Truecaller’s existing service.

Truecaller says ScamFeed has about 20,000 live scam reports in India, with around 1,300 added each week. The company also said it evaluated 12.9 billion messages globally between September 14 and 20 and flagged 20.3 million as fraudulent. It estimates that people make about 14 million web searches a month to check suspicious links and numbers.

The company plans to expand the types of scams Scam Checker can detect and add screenshot uploads for analysis. Its move beyond caller ID comes as India’s telecom operators roll out a government-backed caller-name service and Apple and Google add caller identification and spam-protection features. Truecaller has also criticized a recent regulator order requiring caller-ID apps to share user-submitted spam reports with telecom operators.