Robocalls can be incredibly annoying. Worse, they can trick people out of their hard-earned money.
Now, scientists have come up with a smart way to learn more about these unwanted calls and the scams behind them.
What’s New?
Researchers from North Carolina State University developed a system called SnorCall. This system listens to robocalls and understands what the scammers are saying.
Think of it like a detective that listens to robocalls all day long, trying to find clues!
Why Do We Need SnorCall?
While phone companies can see when and where these robocalls happen, they don’t know what the scammers are saying.
Listening to all these calls would raise big privacy issues. So, SnorCall was designed to only listen to special phone numbers used for this research. This way, no one’s privacy gets invaded.
How Does It Work?
Recording: SnorCall records robocalls on specific phone numbers.
Grouping: It groups together similar calls. This makes the process faster and more efficient.
Understanding: The calls are turned into text and then analyzed to find patterns and trends.
For instance, SnorCall can spot if the call asks for money, personal info, or if it mentions a certain company. It can also identify the topic of the scam, like fake tax problems or tech support issues.
What Did the Researchers Find?
Using SnorCall, the team looked at over 230,000 robocalls! They found out some interesting things:
- Scammers often use fake phone numbers to make their calls. But they can’t fake the number they want victims to call back on. So, by figuring out these call-back numbers, it can give clues to the police or other investigators.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, certain types of scam calls (like those pretending to be from Social Security) decreased and then increased again. This gave insights into how these scams operate.
Understanding robocalls better can help fight against them. If we know how scammers operate, we can find better ways to stop them. Plus, SnorCall can be adjusted to focus on specific scams or trends, making it a valuable tool for investigators.
Sathvik Prasad, a student working on the project, mentioned that SnorCall can help monitor known robocall scams and discover new ones.
Anyone interested in this fight against robocalls can check out more details at robocall.science. The team behind SnorCall is also looking to partner with more companies to tackle the robocall issue even more effectively.
This exciting development will be presented in an upcoming tech event, proving once again that science and technology can be our allies in the fight against nuisances and scams!
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Source: North Carolina State University.
