Company launches new phone spam protection service for Apple's iOS7 devices available on the Apple App Store
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — NUMBERCOP (http://www.numbercop.com), a mobile security company dedicated to combating phone spam, today announced research findings that reveal the amount of Spam Calls arriving on mobile phones is increasing on a daily basis. The report identifies the types of phone spam and companies with the highest phone spam activity and unveils an increase in fraudulent and criminal phone spam schemes. NUMBERCOP also announced a new phone spam protection service for Apple's iOS7 devices available on the Apple App Store today.
Phone Spam Analysis Finds iPhone Users Suffer Most
NUMBERCOP's people-powered phone spam protection service for Android and iOS is currently offering protection from more than 50,000 actively spamming phone spammers. Research among NUMBERCOP's phone-spam-index for 5,000 subscribers in 4 countries (US, CA, UK, AU, January-July 2013) shows that the most prevalent form of reported phone spam are sales agent-based Spam Calls (43%), Spam Text Messages (11%) and automated Robocalls (9%). Phishing Calls seeking personal or financial details and other fraudulent calls, such as Phone Scams, have risen to 27%, an increase of 170% compared to 2008 when NUMBERCOP's phone spam tracking started. The research also finds that phone spam frustrates iPhone users more than Android users. For over 25% of NUMBERCOP's indexed spam numbers iPhone users reported phone spam up to 3 times more frequently than Android users.
One Spam Call Per Day, Per User
Among its Android user base NUMBERCOP blocks on average, one Spam Call per day, per user. Phone Spammers rarely leave voice messages; instead calls are automatically repeated leading to much higher phone spam nuisance levels on an individual basis. To prevent consumers from memorizing and reporting specific numbers, Phone Spammers frequently update their Caller or Sender ID, often on a weekly basis. NUMBERCOP's patent pending Auto-Protection-Update ensures the most effective phone spam protection for its users at all times. Furthermore, with the availability of Apple iOS7, NUMBERCOP now offers Spam Call and Spam Message blocking for iPhone and iPad as well as for Android devices.
Most Complaints for Banks as Vishing and Smishing increases
More than half (54%) of NUMBERCOP's phone spam complaints have been associated with Banks, Credit Card companies and Debt Collectors. Other frequently reported categories include Commercial Services (10%), phone spamming Websites (5%), Account-Notifications (4%), Lotteries, Surveys and Insurance companies. The high activity of phone solicitation among financial institutions has attracted cyber criminals to run Phone Scams and ID Theft via phone calls (Vishing) and text messages (Smishing). 27% of NUMBERCOP's blocked calls and messages have been from known phishing numbers, prompting users to provide personal or financial details via the phone.
"Phone calls are as insecure as email," says Jan Volzke, Founder and CEO of NUMBERCOP. "On a phone, everyone can become anyone, and consumers have no means to securely verify the legitimacy of a caller or phone number. NUMBERCOP enables consumers to block fraudulent calls, protect their privacy and even save some minutes."
Consumer Security Advice
Phone users can avoid phone spam, as well as protect their privacy, by following a few best practices. Consumers should:
1. Avoid answering or returning calls or text messages from new phone numbers or hidden caller IDs
2. Never provide personal information via phone or text messages unless the identity of the number is verified
3. Seek official contact information from official company websites or customer information before calling back
4. Never disclose personal phone numbers in apps, online, or in retail, esp. avoid sharing phone numbers on social networks, online resumes, classified ads, etc.
5. Immediately submit a carrier billing dispute when discovering fraudulent or unknown phone charges
Furthermore, iPhone and Android users can reduce their phone spam nuisance levels and protect themselves from Vishing and Smishing threats with NUMBERCOP for iPhone available from the Apple App Store (http://www.numbercop.com/ios) and NUMBERCOP for Android available at Google Play (http://www.numbercop.com/android). NUMBERCOP's phone spam protection plans start at $2.99 USD and are available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Turkish, Russian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese languages.
Further details about NUMBERCOP and real-time updates of NUMBERCOP's phone spam research are available athttp://www.numbercop.com.
About NUMBERCOP LLC
NUMBERCOP is a privately held California Limited Company, based in San Francisco Bay Area. NUMBERCOP's phone spam protection solutions detect spam calls from currently more than 50,000 actively spamming phone numbers, including telemarketers, robo-calls and phone scam artists. Most call blocking services offered by carriers are limited to a specific set of numbers, which need to be known and entered by each user. NUMBERCOP's people-powered phone spam protection combines all of its users' spam reports into one powerful and actively managed spam-blocking database delivering a superior level of protection and a significant privacy improvement.
Contact:
Jan Volzke
NUMBERCOP LLC
(415) 676-0545
Email