A new report has identified Nigeria as the most spammed country in Africa, with more than half of all unknown calls received in 2025 classified as spam or fraud, raising fresh concerns about trust in mobile communication.
Data released by Truecaller showed that 51 per cent of unknown calls to Nigerian users were flagged as unwanted, placing the country eighth globally and ahead of other African markets, including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia.
Pattern Differs from Other Countries
The report noted that Nigeria's pattern differs from other countries, where financial impersonation scams dominate. In Nigeria, telecom and operator-linked outreach accounts for 35 per cent of spam calls, the highest concentration for any single category across African markets. Sales and telemarketing make up 10 per cent, while scams account for six per cent.
This trend blurs the line between legitimate communication and fraud. With network-related calls and third-party outreach forming a large share of incoming unknown calls, users often struggle to distinguish between genuine service updates, marketing messages and fraudulent attempts.
Global Comparison
The report said Brazil is the only other major market where operator-linked calls dominate the spam landscape in a similar pattern. Globally, the issue is more pronounced. Indonesia ranks as the most spammed country, with 79 per cent of unknown calls flagged, followed by Chile at 70 per cent. Vietnam, Brazil and India complete the top five.
In several markets across South America and Southeast Asia, automated systems are responsible for over 70 per cent of such calls. Within the Middle East and Africa region, the platform recorded over 100 million monthly active users by late 2025, with Africa emerging as one of its fastest-growing user bases.
Impact on Trust
The report warned that beyond financial losses, the broader impact is a gradual erosion of trust in phone communication. As users increasingly ignore unknown calls, essential services such as healthcare providers, schools, delivery services, banks and businesses face growing difficulty reaching customers.
The Chief Executive Officer of Truecaller, Rishit Jhunjhunwala, said: “The scale of what this data shows should concern everyone. Fraud, impersonation, and scams are affecting people's daily lives in a way we have never seen before.
“In some countries, most unknown calls are now spam, which is a fundamental breakdown in how communication works. Our mission is to build trust in communication, and in 2026, we are focused on stopping fraud before it reaches people,” he added.
The company disclosed that it crossed 500 million monthly active users on March 31, 2026, with more than 150 million users outside India. According to the report, over 68 billion spam and fraud calls were identified globally in 2025, underscoring the growing scale of the problem and the increasing reliance on digital tools to filter unwanted communication.
