By Thapelo Molefe
South Africans were hit by 2.58 billion spam calls in January 2026, a 24.3% increase compared to the same month last year, according to new data released on Tuesday by caller identification app Truecaller.
Truecaller said blocked calls increased by 19.5%, from 864 million to 1.03 billion, while answered spam calls rose by 6.9%, from 208 million to 222 million. The sharpest jump was in spam messages, which climbed 61.3% year on year, from 369 million to 596 million.
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“These numbers show that spam and scam activity is not stabilising, it is accelerating,” said Mmathebe Zvobwo, Director for Market Development in South Africa at Truecaller.
“The year on year increase in January alone tells us that scam operations are organised, persistent and adapting quickly.”
The January spike follows what the company said was a record breaking 2025. Between 1 January and 31 December 2025, South Africans received an estimated 30.3 billion spam calls. October recorded the highest monthly volume at 3.1 billion calls.
On average, more than 2.52 billion spam calls were identified each month in 2025, with over one million new spam and scam numbers detected monthly.
Although users collectively blocked 11.3 billion spam calls, representing 37.5% of identified spam, the scale of activity highlights what Truecaller said was an “industrial” fraud network operating nationwide.
Zvobwo said the surge is affecting consumer behaviour, particularly during high pressure financial periods such as back to school season, the festive period and Valentine’s Day.
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“South Africans are tired of guessing,” she said. “The fear of answering the wrong call is real. What we’re seeing is not just nuisance spam, it’s behaviour that affects how people live and communicate.”
Truecaller said its data is based on anonymised and aggregated user insights.
The company urged consumers to avoid sharing personal or financial information with unknown callers, verify unfamiliar numbers and report suspicious calls to help protect others.