Recent changes to the General Telecommunications Act were supposed to reduce the flow of spam calls. Unfortunately, for many people, including myself, the situation has become even worse. I now receive more spam calls than ever, so much so that I stopped answering calls from unknown numbers. However, the question of whether an important call has gone through often lingers in my mind. I used to search for unknown numbers online, but this method turned out to be time-consuming and not always reliable. Fortunately, I discovered a simpler and more effective way to detect potential spam or scam calls: using WhatsApp.
How WhatsApp Can Help You Identify and Block Spam Calls
WhatsApp as Your Unexpected Caller ID
Knowing who’s calling without picking up the phone is a modern aspiration for many. No one wants to waste time answering a call only to find out it’s from a scammer or salesperson. There are plenty of caller ID apps and websites designed to help with this, but I never expected to rely on WhatsApp for this purpose.
Despite legal efforts to reduce spam calls, they continue. On a good week, I might only get a few spam calls. On a bad week, I’m bombarded with multiple calls from different numbers in a single day, forcing me to block them one by one. Google’s spam filter catches some of these nuisance calls, but not all of them.
In the past, I rarely answered calls from unknown numbers and instead Googled the number to see if it was associated with known scams. However, this approach has become less effective. Scammers now change their phone numbers so frequently that by the time someone reports them on sites like ListaSpam, the number has long since been deleted.
That’s when I discovered that WhatsApp can be a powerful tool for spotting spam callers. Many scammers seem to prefer WhatsApp, probably because scams are easier to perpetrate via text messages rather than voice calls. Text message scams are less resource intensive and allow a single scammer to target multiple victims at once.
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Spotting Red Flags on WhatsApp
What surprised me the most was that many spam numbers have WhatsApp profiles, you can easily check them. WhatsApp now allows users to start a chat with any number, just by searching for it in the “Compose New Message” section. This feature has become an unexpected ally in my fight against spam calls.
If a phone number connected to a landline also has a WhatsApp profile, that’s usually a red flag. This is especially true if the profile is labeled as a business account with an unusual or generic name. Scammers often create business accounts that mimic personal profiles or represent fictitious companies. For example, if I get a call from an organization called “Pepito Garcia Enterprises” and I have no previous connection to the organization, that’s a strong indication that the call is likely spam, a scam, or at best, something I’m not interested in.
Over time, I’ve noticed that it’s becoming more and more common for unknown numbers calling me to have WhatsApp profiles. This trend has made it easier to decide whether or not to block a number to prevent future calls. The ability to quickly check a number on WhatsApp has become the norm for me, rather than the exception.
Double Protection with WhatsApp and Google Phone
One of the main benefits of using WhatsApp as caller ID is that it provides dual protection. If I suspect a number is spam or a scam, I can block it on both WhatsApp and Google Phone. I can also report the number on WhatsApp as a precaution. It helps prevent others from falling victim to the same scam.
In conclusion, while the changes to the General Telecommunications Law have not made much difference in reducing spam calls, using WhatsApp as a caller ID has significantly improved my ability to identify and block unwanted calls. It’s simple, effective, and offers an extra layer of protection against potential scams. Tired of spam calls? Want to filter out the noise? Try WhatsApp. You might be surprised at how useful it can be.