Truecaller now allows users to protect families from fraudulent calls

Truecaller has launched a household-level fraud protection feature as the Swedish company expands its role beyond caller ID in response to the increasing number of fraud attempts targeting multiple members in a household.

The new feature, called Family Protection, allows up to five people to join a family group moderated by one member who acts as an administrator and manages fraud blocking settings for others. Family Protection is initially being rolled out as a pilot program for Android and iOS users in Sweden, Chile, Malaysia and Kenya.

Truecaller said the feature is designed so that the most digitally confident person in the family can handle fraud controls on behalf of the less tech-savvy family member.

On Android, your family admin can receive alerts during suspected fraud calls; View basic device status, including battery level; The company said it is remotely terminating calls flagged as fraudulent.

Fraud activity is increasing around the world as more people use the Internet. This activity has exploded in markets where first-time smartphone users and older adults are more vulnerable to fraud. Countries, including India, have reported sharp increases in impersonation attempts and multi-step schemes that exploit gaps in digital literacy. Truecaller plans to address this issue with its new feature, which will expand to additional major regions, including India, in the first quarter of 2026.

Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala told TechCrunch that the company has seen scammers shift from targeting individuals to entire families, with schemes exposed through a series of calls, messages, missed call triggers and impersonation attempts directed at multiple family members to find a vulnerable entry point. He said that this trend prompted the launch of the multi-user protection system.

Family Protection is available as a free feature for users. However, if a family admin upgrades to the Premium Family plan, all members will get an ad-free experience along with stronger spam defense and automatic rejection of high-risk calls, the company said.

With a user base of more than 450 million users worldwide, Truecaller detects approximately 63 million fraud attempts daily, allowing it to track shifts in fraud schemes in real-time. The company says its community also reports about 166 million spam calls daily, creating one of the largest data sets of phone fraud activity globally.

However, Truecaller faces new competition in India, its largest market, as the government there begins trials of a caller name display system that will display the name registered with telecom providers on incoming calls. Truecaller is adding features beyond caller ID, including family protection, as it adapts to regulatory and market changes in India and other key markets.

“With Family Protection, the vigilance of one person now enhances the safety of up to five family members,” Jhunjhunwala said, adding that the company aims to expand protection without requiring additional effort from users.