Spam call surge blamed on rushed consent clicks, data brokers
A new report finds many spam calls originate from users hurriedly clicking unchecked consent boxes. Data brokers buy numbers from such rushed sign-ups. The article details sources of number leaks and offers steps to reduce unwanted calls, including do-not-call registers and built-in filters.
A report published by technology outlet Engadget on Saturday says many mobile phone numbers end up in the hands of telemarketers and scammers because users rush through consent forms and click unchecked agreement boxes.
The report outlines several ways personal numbers are acquired. Data leaks often occur when a legitimate platform where a user registered their contact details suffers a cyberattack or data breach. Robocallers also harvest numbers by dialing randomly generated numbers or scraping public registries, including court directories, property deeds, and corporate filings.
Even consumers registered with statutory do-not-call lists may still receive calls from legally exempt organisations such as registered charities, political campaigns, debt-collection agencies, and market-research firms. The report states that most numbers held by telemarketers and scammers are bought from data brokers, often after users rushed through pages with confusingly designed checkboxes to sign up for accounts, reward programs, contests, or lotteries.
In some cases, users fall victim to phishing scams, entering details on fake login pages, signing up on suspicious sites, answering bogus job ads, or registering for sham apps and services. The report warns that a phone number may already have been sold once it is used to register for anything.
Among the simplest steps to keep spam calls away is joining the official Do-Not-Call Register by calling the Communications Authority's hotline at 1835 000. Once registration takes effect after 10 working days, users are protected from prerecorded calls, SMS, and faxes, but not live sales calls.
Users can also turn on built-in filters—such as “Silence Unknown Callers” or “Screen Unknown Callers” on iPhones and “Caller ID and spam protection” on Android—to block spam. Third-party apps such as Whoscall, Call Defender, and Truecaller are available to identify, label, or block junk calls. Mobile operators also offer free or paid add-ons, including network-level blocking of anonymous or withheld numbers.
Users are advised against calling back silent or one-ring calls, which scammers use to test whether a number is active and, in some cases, to record voice samples. Hiding one's number on social media also helps, as does reading the terms to untick any box consenting to the sale or sharing of personal data. To check whether a linked email has been breached, users can use the free site Have I Been Pwned, founded by security expert Troy Hunt.
