MUMBAI : The Truecaller Insights Report for 2026, based on anonymised data from its global user base of over 500 million users. India ranks fifth on the list, behind Indonesia, Chile, Vietnam and Brazil, reflecting the growing scale of spam-related disruptions.
In India, spam calls show a strong commercial pattern. Sales and telemarketing calls make up the largest share at 36%, followed by financial services at 18%. Scam-related calls account for 12%, underlining the increasing overlap between marketing outreach and fraudulent activity.
Globally, the report reveals notable regional variations. Countries such as Indonesia and Mexico see over 40% of spam calls originating from financial institutions, including banks and lending services. Chile stands out with debt collection contributing 38% of spam calls, the highest share for any single category worldwide. Meanwhile, telecom-related spam dominates in markets like Brazil and Nigeria, often blurring the lines between promotional messages and potential scams.
The surge in spam and fraud calls is also eroding trust in unknown communications, the report notes. With automated systems becoming more sophisticated, distinguishing between legitimate and malicious calls is becoming increasingly difficult for users.
India has emerged as the world’s fifth most spam-affected country, according to Truecaller’s 2026 Insights Report based on data from over 500 million users. In India, 36% of spam calls are from sales and telemarketing, 18% from financial services and 12% are scams, highlighting how commercial outreach is increasingly overlapping with fraudulent activity and eroding trust in unknown callers.