The phone rings. There’s a sense of dread. Friend or foe? Scam or no? NordVPN — known more for encrypting internet traffic and hiding IP addresses — has launched an Android app named HangUp that screens incoming calls for potential scammers and telemarketers. The app is free to everyone. You don’t need a paid NordVPN account.
HangUp uses call protection technology from Hiya, which has its own mobile app to block spam and fraud calls and detect AI deepfakes. HangUp also can scan incoming text messages by incorporating NordVPN’s Message Protection, which the company launched in June. HangUp app customers can choose to use only call screening if they wish.
Flagging calls might be a new feature for a VPN that CNET deems the fastest, but scam screening is already available via many cellphone service providers as well as devices themselves. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, iPhones, Google Pixel and Samsung phones can identify and block unwanted calls, as can major landline services.
HangUp is currently available only for Android and can be downloaded in the Google Play Store. After downloading the app, you’ll need to sign in with your NordVPN account or create a free one on its website. Finally, you’ll need to give permission to the app to identify caller ID and spam.
NordVPN premium customers already have call and message protection built into the app.
Worldwide problem
Scam calls aren’t just annoying — they defraud people out of billions of dollars annually. It’s a far cry from the quaint beginning of telemarketing in 1957.
Nearly 80% of Americans got at least one scam call in the past year, and 40% report feeling unsafe because of scam calls, according to a NordVPN survey. Hiya research found that Americans receive an average of 10 unwanted calls per week and that 30 million people lost money — at an average of $682 apiece — to a phone scam in the past year.
See also: Scam Calls Have Gotten Out of Control. This One Strategy Actually Helps
NordVPN’s survey said the most common scam in the US is fake telemarketers or sales agents (43%), followed by fake healthcare providers (20%) and fake government or tax officials (18%).
“What these numbers reflect is a deeper anxiety about not being able to trust a call,” NordVPN Product Director Domininkas Virbickas said in a statement.
How HangUp works
When a call comes in, HangUp checks the number and warns you if it could be a scam, spam or telemarketing attempt before you answer the call. The app is able to do this by using caller reputation data that Hiya uses for its own service.
You can’t block individual phone numbers with the app, but instead, you can block categories — for instance if you want to stop all calls that are categorized as telemarketers.
You can also employ HangUp to scan incoming text messages. The app says it can detect scams, fraud, malicious messages and deceptive content. The app says it “may analyze message content, including links, sender information, and other relevant signals, to assess potential risks.”
If you’re worried that this is another way of getting your data, NordVPN says it will not record or listen to calls, nor will it store any text message content.
NordVPN has another disclaimer about HangUp. It says the app is only an “informational assistance tool” and can’t guarantee that it will be able to identify and block all unwanted calls. HangUp users can’t “rely exclusively” on the app and are “solely responsible” for calls and texts that they get.
So be sure you know the warning signs of scam calls and the steps you can take. The Federal Communications Commission lists them out, including not answering calls from numbers you don’t know and hanging up immediately if someone asks for money or personal information.
