By Paul Joseph
Nigeria has emerged as the most spammed country in Africa and the eighth most affected globally, according to the 2025 Spam and Fraud Report released by Truecaller.
The report revealed that 51 per cent of all unknown calls received by users in Nigeria this year were identified as spam or fraudulent, meaning more than half of unfamiliar calls could be unwanted, misleading, or potentially dangerous.
Globally, Nigeria ranked behind countries such as Indonesia, which topped the list with 79 per cent of unknown calls marked as spam, followed by Chile at 70 per cent. Other countries in the top five include Vietnam, Brazil, and India.
Within Africa, Nigeria ranked ahead of South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Ethiopia in spam call activity.
According to the report, telecom and network operator promotions accounted for 35 per cent of all spam calls recorded in Nigeria — the highest rate among African countries surveyed.
Telemarketing and promotional calls made up another 10 per cent, while direct scam attempts accounted for about six per cent of the spam calls identified.
Truecaller warned that the increasing overlap between legitimate telecom communication and fraudulent calls is making it harder for users to distinguish genuine calls from scams.
The company noted that the situation exposes many Nigerians to a greater risk of fraud while also causing some users to ignore important legitimate calls out of fear of being scammed.
The report also highlighted a similar telecom-related spam trend in Brazil, suggesting that rapidly expanding telecom markets in developing countries may be contributing to the global rise in spam and fraudulent calls.
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