BT’s new Enhanced Call Protect on Digital Voice has blocked more than 2,430,000 scams and identified 17,700,000 spam calls to landlines since the new scam protection service from Hiya was introduced in May 2024.
Digital Voice is BT’s home phone service, powered by broadband, which includes an AI-powered tool that monitors incoming calls and will notify the user of any suspected spam calls. With Machine Learning, Hiya can improve its scam detection and protection the more malicious calls it encounters – in one day blocking more than 46,500 scam calls.
According to data from Hiya, UK residents received an average of three spam calls per month from January to June 2024, with 28% of all unknown calls flagged as spam. This equates to approximately 195 million spam calls per month.
Roughly 2.5 million BT customers already receive the new call vetting service, a benefit of migrating to Digital Voice. This figure is set to double as more customers upgrade to digital landlines, and BT expects to block more than 1.5 million scam calls monthly once all customers have moved over to Digital Voice.
On receiving a potential spam call, customers see a visual warning on their landline phone display, saying, ‘Nuisance?’. They can reject or accept an inbound call that is flagged as a spam call. Scam calls are automatically diverted to a customer’s junk voicemail, protecting them from the threat of scammers. Any call from a registered business will have its name displayed to verify it as genuine. Overall, the service gives Digital Voice customers peace of mind and enhanced protection from scam and spam calls.
Any customer can potentially fall victim to voice scams known as ‘vishing’ where fraudsters attempt to collect personal data over the phone. These types of scams are becoming more and more popular with scammers making unsolicited calls masquerading as an organisation that people know and trust. It aims to harvest personal data such as bank details or account passwords and use these to exploit consumers.
Lucy Baker MBE, BT Consumer’s All-IP Director, said: “Our top priority is ensuring our customers feel secure and confident when using our services. This new Hiya technology is now integrated with Digital Voice and is proving to be incredibly effective at stopping scam calls. We remain committed to protecting customers during the switch to digital landlines.”
Alex Algard, CEO of Hiya, added: “We’re thrilled to be supporting BT in its mission to shield users from unwanted calls. It’s great to see that our technology has successfully blocked fraud and spam calls, which will in turn give customers the confidence to answer their phones and engage in meaningful conversations without the interruption of unwanted disturbances. This progress underscores our dedication to enhancing digital safety and improving the user experience.”
BT has made significant progress rolling out Digital Voice across the country as the UK moves from analogue to digital landlines. This upgrade aims to future-proof the UK’s landlines and to replace outdated technology. BT has embarked on extensive community outreach, visiting 340 towns and cities across the UK, reaching 30% of the nation’s urban areas.
Given the rising number of malicious calls, BT advises customers to remain vigilant. Tips to avoid scams include:
- If you receive a suspicious call, put the phone down and call back on a trusted number to verify the call
- If you mistakenly give a caller your bank account details, contact your bank immediately
- If you receive a suspicious call, report the call to us here
- Block any suspicious numbers after you have reported them
Remember:
- Take a moment to stop and think. Trust your instincts. If it sounds too good to be true or is suspicious, there’s probably a catch
- Don’t stay on the phone unless you’re 100% sure the caller is genuine
- Don’t give away any of your personal details or give anyone access to your computer
BT protects its customers from the threat of scams and encourages them to remain vigilant of malicious calls. Customers already benefit from an AI network-level firewall that detects inbound calls from international locations using a UK number for scam purposes. This blocks millions of calls from fraudsters reaching customers and those on other networks every year.
