BT’s new home phone scam protection service stops 20.1 million scam and spam attempts in first 4 months

• BT’s new Enhanced Call Protect on Digital Voice has blocked more than 2.4 million scam calls and almost 17.7 million spam calls since May this year
• The scam protection service by Hiya gives 2.5 million BT Digital Voice customers an extra layer of defence, with Digital Voice users set to grow in future
• Enhanced Call Protect utilises the landline phone display to warn of spam calls and verify genuine calls
• BT shares practical advice to help customers protect themselves from scams

BT’s new Enhanced Call Protect on Digital Voice has successfully blocked more than 2,430,000 scam and identified 17,700,000 spam calls to landlines since the new scam protection service from Hiya was introduced in May.

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 is able to 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 3 spam calls per month from January to June this year, with 28% of all unknown calls flagged as spam. This equates to approximately 195 million spam calls per month.

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 have a choice to 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 their 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. Their aim is 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 once in a generation 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.

Enhanced Call Protect is included as a free service for Digital Voice customers on their BT home phone plan.

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 is committed to protecting our customers from the threat of scams and encouraging 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 our customers and those on other networks every year.

ENDS

About Hiya

Hiya is trusted by global businesses, carriers, and consumers to provide secure, engaging connections and stop unwanted calls. Built on the world’s leading Voice Security Platform, Hiya connects businesses with their customers, helps carriers secure their networks, and protects people from spam and fraud calls. Hiya’s SaaS applications, Hiya Connect and Hiya Protect, serve more than 500 million users on the Hiya Network, powering call protection and identity for EE, Samsung, Ericsson and more. Learn more at www.hiya.com.

About BT Group

BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. We also provide managed telecommunications, security and network & IT infrastructure services to customers across 180 countries.

BT Group consists of three customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; Business covers companies and public services in the UK and internationally; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary wholesaling fixed access infrastructure services to its customers - over 700 communications providers across the UK.

British Telecommunications plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/about