The Hiya Voice

News and views for better voice performance

Reduce the risk of spam labeling on your business calls

Register your business numbers to establish yourself as a legitimate caller to carriers — reducing your risk of spam labeling. Sign up for your free Hiya account to register today.

Create free account

Spain combines high rates of fraud and nuisance calls

Spain has a phone spam problem. Not only do Spaniards receive a high volume of unwanted calls each month, but of those calls, a high ...
Continue reading

Political calls surge ahead of US presidential election

If it seems your phone has been ringing more often, you’re not imagining things. Political calls have surged as the US presidential ...
Continue reading

Spam calls declined in the UK in the first half of 2024

Residents of the UK receive fewer spam calls than those living in other European countries: an average of only 3 per person each month. ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Tech support scams

“Tech support scams are real and they’re causing enormous consumer injury: hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, and that’s just ...
Continue reading

Medicare & insurance scams dominate U.S. in first half ...

The United States receives an above average number of spam calls compared to other countries, and the most common phone scams relate to ...
Continue reading

Spain drafts new regulations to fight spam calls

Governmental regulators in Spain have issued a draft order that aims to tackle the increasing issue of fraud facilitated through phone ...
Continue reading

Global Report: Each country experiences unique set of phone ...

Phone spam is a global problem, but each country experiences it differently — both in the volume of spam calls and the types of phone scams ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Bank scams

Bank and credit card scams were the most commonly reported type of phone scam in the world last year, according to Hiya’s data. They ranked ...
Continue reading

Rethinking identity on the voice channel

Consumers have very little trust in the voice call. In fact, 92% of consumers think unidentified calls are fraudulent, according to Hiya’s ...
Continue reading

Loccus.ai joins Hiya

Hiya has acquired deepfake voice detection leader Loccus.ai, which identifies AI-generated voice in real-time. Combining the power of ...
Continue reading

European privacy laws work to scammers’ advantage

Privacy laws are wonderful. They protect our personal data from being shared with everyone from marketers to the government. But there is a ...
Continue reading

Unmasking the truth behind scam phone calls

Scam calls are a worldwide problem. Each year, Hiya analyzes billions of calls across 40+ countries, and of those calls, more than 14% were ...
Continue reading

Top 4 reasons phone carriers invest in spam & fraud ...

Here at Hiya, we’ve successfully deployed voice security solutions with phone carriers across the globe. In meeting with carriers large and ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Utility and disconnect scams

If you received a call from your utility company informing you that your electricity would be shut off within the hour due to lack of ...
Continue reading

Amazon phone scams down in the US, up in Canada and UK

What happens when scammers hit a roadblock with their fraudulent calls? Do they lay down their headsets and go home? Not likely. It’s more ...
Continue reading

Phone scam losses increased 527% in past year

Financial losses from phone scams were up 527% in 2023 compared to 2022. In 2022, the average amount lost by consumers who were scammed was ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Charity and Nonprofit scams

People are generally willing to open their wallets to help others in need, whether it’s to help victims of a natural disaster or fund ...
Continue reading

Senior scams on the rise in Canada

Senior citizens in Canada are being targeted by phone scammers.
Continue reading

UK energy bill scams surge in winter

Winter may be the slow season in many industries in the UK, but it’s high season for fraudsters perpetrating energy scams.
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Elections

2024 is a presidential election year in the US, and that means citizens will be getting plenty of political calls.
Continue reading

Hiya’s guarantee: establishing our Customer Bill of Rights

As a customer, interacting with a company can feel like more than just a transaction. In many cases, these interactions are building blocks ...
Continue reading

Spain experiences high rates of phone spam and fraud

In the previous four quarters, Spain has had the highest spam rate in Europe. But in Q4 2023, Spain’s 46% spam rate was edged out by ...
Continue reading

2024 State of the Call: Consumers prefer voice, but spam ...

While consumers and businesses continue to prioritize voice calls, phone fraud, and spam are on the rise, posing a threat to the medium ...
Continue reading

Brazilians receive 24 spam calls per person per month

Brazil has a major phone spam problem. Brazillians receive an average of 24 spam calls per person each month. That’s considerably more than ...
Continue reading

Highlights from Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2024

Hiya was delighted to meet customers and partners in person at Mobile World Congress 2024, the world’s largest and most influential trade ...
Continue reading

Canada Revenue Agency scams tax Canadian’s patience

As if calculating and paying taxes weren’t bad enough, Canadians must also deal with phone scammers who try to con them out of their ...
Continue reading

Why registering your business phone number matters

Effective communication is a constant throughline of any successful business. The ability to enable precise, timely, and trustworthy ...
Continue reading

Biden voice-clone robocall highlights AI-generated phone ...

The Joe Biden voice-clone robocall encouraging voters not to vote in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire was an eerie reminder that ...
Continue reading

Package delivery scams are common worldwide

If you receive a call telling you there’s a problem with a package delivery, think twice before you answer any questions or press a button ...
Continue reading

Q4 Global Call Threat Report: phone scams peak during ...

Late November not only kicked off the holiday season, but scammers kicked into high gear to take advantage of consumers preoccupied with ...
Continue reading

Beyond the scam: Understanding the true cost of fraud calls

Almost all of us have received a fraud call, and some may have even fallen victim to a phone scam. However, the actual cost of fraud goes ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: loan phone scams

Hiya’s data show that loan scams were the sixth most commonly reported phone scam in the world last year. (See Top 10 phone scams of 2023.) ...
Continue reading

Why carriers need transparency and analytics from their ...

Carriers need to protect their subscribers from spam and fraud calls, but when they're looking at how to do that, there are important ...
Continue reading

Introducing call branding in the UK

Hiya’s data show that more than one in every four unidentified calls received in the UK are flagged as spam. Brits experience one of the ...
Continue reading

The future of voice: challenges and opportunities

What are the challenges threatening the future of voice, and where are there untapped opportunities? How can carriers cement the voice call ...
Continue reading

Protect yourself from holiday scams

The holiday season provides a perfect opportunity to slow down, reflect, and give. Just be sure you’re giving to those you care about the ...
Continue reading

Top 10 phone scams of 2023

Bank and credit card scams topped the list of fraudulent phone calls worldwide in 2023, with Amazon impersonators coming in second.
Continue reading

“Hallo mama” scam hitting Germany

In Germany, residents are being hit with the “Hallo mama” scam.
Continue reading

Billions lost to pension scams in the UK

After working hard their whole lives, pensioners in the UK can finally relax and enjoy their retirement. Then the phone rings, with ...
Continue reading

Call branding essentials for Canadian businesses

Hiya’s data shows that one in every five unidentified calls received in Canada is flagged as a suspicious call, and Canadians experience ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Open enrollment

Open enrollment for health insurance happens around this time every year in the US, generally from late October through early December. And ...
Continue reading

Need relief? Phone scammers are betting you do

Relief scams were among the top phone scams in the US, according to Hiya’s Q3 Global Call Threat Report, which reveals spam rates in 39 ...
Continue reading

Voice fraud and the threat of generative AI

To illustrate the power of generative AI — and how it can be misused by scammers — Hiya’s Chief Product Officer James Lau cloned the voice ...
Continue reading

Winning the war on phone spam in Canada

Hiya representatives attended and presented at the Canadian Telecom Summit, held Nov. 6-8 in Toronto. Hosted by the Canadian ...
Continue reading

Revitalizing phone connections: improving call reputation ...

For most people, receiving unwanted calls is a routine experience. In fact, Hiya data shows that one out of every four calls consumers ...
Continue reading

Hiya represented at Futurecom, Latin America’s largest ...

For the first time, Hiya was represented at Futurecom, Latin America’s largest B2B trade show for the connectivity industry. The three-day ...
Continue reading

Q3 report: In some countries, more of than half of unknown ...

Which four countries have spam call rates exceeding 50%? What’s the most common phone scam in the UK? Which US state gets the most spam ...
Continue reading

Liberty Latin America selects Hiya Protect for spam and ...

We are thrilled to announce a new agreement with Liberty Latin America to provide the industry’s leading call protection service, Hiya ...
Continue reading

How Canadian voice providers defend against fraudulent calls

Since the beginning of 2023, more people in Canada have begun seeing “call labels” on some calls they receive. These labels warn call ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: The “yes” scam

There are new phone scams. There are old phone scams. There are even old phone scams that become new again. That seems to be the case with ...
Continue reading

State of the Call Summit 2023 gathers industry leaders to ...

Telecommunication leaders, spam and fraud experts, and industry regulators gathered at Hiya’s 2023 State of the Call Summit in New York ...
Continue reading

Consumer Council scam calls

Smartphones keep us conveniently connected to the world, but fraudulent calls cause problems for many consumers. Criminals employ ...
Continue reading

Can reputation services erase my spam labels?

For every problem or pain point a business has, it seems like there are companies out there offering services to solve that problem. That’s ...
Continue reading

Phishing vs. vishing vs. smishing

Fraud is an unfortunate but prevalent issue that every organization should be aware of, especially considering how much criminals will take ...
Continue reading

How Apple iOS 17 update impacts voice calling

A new season is upon us. The leaves are changing, kids are going back to school, and as Apple users have come to expect for years now, ...
Continue reading

Why the battle against spam is still ongoing

What are the challenges to winning the war on phone spam?
Continue reading

Scam of the month: Payment app scams (Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, ...

Peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, PayPal, Cash App and Zelle have made paying friends and family quick and easy. The problem is, those ...
Continue reading

UK has highest fraud call rate in Europe

The United Kingdom continues to have Europe's highest fraud call rate, at 9.3%. Brits are bombarded by fraudsters impersonating loved ones, ...
Continue reading

The role of the carrier in advancing voice technology

At a panel discussion hosted by Hiya at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a group of telecom experts was asked the question, “What is the ...
Continue reading

Canada experiencing increase in spam calls

Canada is experiencing an increase in spam calls, and the most prevalent phone scams in the country are impersonation scams and Amazon ...
Continue reading

Hiya honeypots and user reports capture a wealth of insight ...

Ever wonder how Hiya knows what phone scams are currently out there — or when new ones suddenly arise? Hiya Protect is powered by Adaptive ...
Continue reading

“Loved ones scam” is a global problem

Phone scammers like to catch their victims off guard. They jolt their victims with upsetting information and push them to act before they ...
Continue reading

Scam of the Month: Google Business Profile scam

We write a lot about phone scams that target consumers, but the Google Business Profile scam primarily affects business owners.
Continue reading

The rise of AI: voice impersonation scams

Phone scams have long plagued the voice channel, but now with the help of AI they are evolving. AI-powered voice scams are on the rise, ...
Continue reading

Beyond fraud: Why carriers need to address nuisance calls

Carriers put a lot of effort into stopping scam and fraud calls. And rightly so, as these calls are intended to steal money and/or personal ...
Continue reading

What you can expect at the 2023 State of the Call Summit

In 2019, Hiya hosted our first annual “State of the Call 2019 Summit”. This summit brought together industry experts dedicated to sharing ...
Continue reading

Phone fraud increases in 30 out of 39 countries

First the good news. Globally, the overall volume of spam calls declined slightly from Q1 to Q2 2023. The bad news is that the proportion ...
Continue reading

What is driving spam call growth?

There are two contributing factors, according to Hiya CEO and founder Alex Algard, who spoke during a panel discussion at Mobile World ...
Continue reading

Scam of the Month: Vehicle accident

Just when consumers were breathing a collective sigh of relief as the vehicle warranty scam fades, there comes a different vehicle-related ...
Continue reading

How do vishing attacks impact your business?

Vishing (or “voice phishing”) is a scam technique where a scammer uses a business’s name and information to try and get someone to divulge ...
Continue reading

Successes and shortcomings of STIR/SHAKEN

June 30, 2023, marked the deadline for which nearly all types of carriers (large, small, gateway providers) must implement STIR/SHAKEN. ...
Continue reading

Spam labeling: the role of recipient reactions

With the rise of spam calls, our phones have become battlegrounds, where legitimate calls vie for our attention amidst a deluge of unwanted ...
Continue reading

Number rotation undermines consumer spam protections — ...

Phone spam and fraud is a pervasive problem threatening the consumer voice experience. In Q1 2023, one-quarter of all unknown calls ...
Continue reading

SoftBank Corp. subsidiary, BBSS, partners with Hiya to ...

Hiya is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with BBSS Corporation, a subsidiary of SoftBank Corporation-owned SB C&S ...
Continue reading

What is vishing?

Most people have received a call that sounds alarming and urges them to take immediate action to protect their bank account or prevent a ...
Continue reading

Scam of the month: COVID-related threats

For many, COVID-19 seems like a distant memory. Life has returned to near normal, and most people just want to put COVID behind them. ...
Continue reading

What is neighborhood spoofing?

If you get an incoming call from a foreign country or even a state where you have no friends or relatives, that’s a tipoff that it could be ...
Continue reading

Scam of the Month: Immigration

Phone scammers love to target vulnerable populations. And one of their favorite targets is immigrants. Immigrants are typically less ...
Continue reading

Canada’s #1 phone scam: air duct cleaning services

Some phone scams relate to recent news events or target specific demographics. Then there are the scams that have been around for years ...
Continue reading

Elaborate mobile phone contract scam targets UK residents

Some phone scams are simple, such as selling a product or service that’s never delivered. Others can be quite elaborate. That seems to be ...
Continue reading

Sweepstakes phone scams widespread in Germany

“You’re the lucky winner!” That’s the sentence we all long to hear. Unfortunately it’s also the hook used by scammers to get their victim’s ...
Continue reading

Billions lost to cryptocurrency phone scams worldwide

The popularity of investing in cryptocurrency has exploded over the past few years. Investors range from financial professionals to ...
Continue reading

One-fourth of the world’s unknown calls are spam and fraud

No country is immune from phone spam. In Q1 Hiya observed 6.7 billion spam calls worldwide — that’s more than 73 million calls every day.
Continue reading

What are “Spam Risk” or “Scam Likely” numbers and why do ...

One of the best advancements in telephone technology over the past 50 years is the caller ID display. Being able to see who is calling has ...
Continue reading

Top 5 Scam Calls of 2022 So Far

Every week Hiya receives more than 1.6 million reports of spam and scam calls. These come from users of Hiya’s mobile app, and customers of ...
Continue reading

The Latest Tool to Stop Spam and Scam Calls: Adaptive AI

How do you stop spam and scam calls? Traditionally, spam-blocking services had used the historical model. If a phone number has a history ...
Continue reading

Scam of the Month: extended warranty scam

The phone rings, and it is an unknown number. You pick up the phone just in case it is something important. When you answer, you are ...
Continue reading

What is Adaptive AI?

Adaptive AI blocks 28% more spam and scam calls Spam and scam calls hurt everyone: consumers and businesses are annoyed or defrauded by ...
Continue reading

Scam of the Month: The Eavesdropping Scam

You’ve likely read about the Wangiri scam, and I’m sure someone has contacted you about your “car’s extended warranty”. But there’s a new ...
Continue reading

How to Stay Prepared as 401K Plan Provider this Tax Season

When tax time rolls around, customers tend to have a lot of inquiries about interest and mortgage statements. How do they affect my taxes? ...
Continue reading

What you need to know about STIR/SHAKEN in 2022

STIR/SHAKEN’s ultimate goal is to reduce robocalls in the telecom networks. To achieve this, STIR/SHAKEN attempts to help differentiate the ...
Continue reading

Scam of the Month: The Wangiri Scam

Ring! Click. The caller hung up. But why? Welcome to the Wangiri scam — one of the world's most popular scam calls. In Japanese, Wangiri ...
Continue reading

How to avoid IRS scam calls

Let’s face it, money matters. Whether you’re earning it or spending it, financial security is crucial. Unfortunately, the never-ending IRS ...
Continue reading