NordVPN is one of our favorite VPNs on the market, boasting blazing-fast speeds, excellent streaming service unblocking capabilities and forward-thinking privacy features. Now, NordVPN is expanding its cybersecurity offerings with scam call protection for Android users in the US.
Here’s what you need to know about the service and how to enable it on your mobile device.
NordVPN aims to help protect against scam calls
You can easily enable NordVPN's scam call protection from within the NordVPN Android app. Screenshot/CNET
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, cybercrime resulted in a staggering $16 billion in stolen money in 2024, which was up 33% compared to 2023. Scams, including scam calls, are a major piece of the cybercrime picture, with investment scams and imposter scams combining to take more than $8 billion from Americans last year, according to Identity Theft Research Center data.
To help combat scam calls, NordVPN has launched a scam call protection feature for its US Android users. Scam call protection analyzes call metadata -- the company says it doesn’t access or store call content -- then displays a message indicating whether an incoming call might be a bad actor. NordVPN announced via a blog post that it plans to update its scam call protection with features including the ability to identify legitimate callers, categories for callers such as financial services or healthcare and the ability to report scam numbers.
NordVPN’s scam call protection feature is included in the NordVPN Android app, so you don’t need to install an additional app to access this feature. While scam call protection is built into the NordVPN app on Android, it works independently of your VPN connection, so you don’t need to leave your VPN enabled to get scam call warnings. Currently, it’s only available for US customers.
Mykolas Dumcius, chief product officer at NordVPN, said in a press release, "We've always been about protecting people's digital lives, and phone scams are a huge part of that threat landscape now. The Scam Call Protection feature is our way of extending that protection beyond just internet browsing because your phone shouldn't be a gateway for scammers either."
You may already have spam call filtration, but it probably won't hurt to try NordVPN’s scam call protection
Most cell phone carriers can detect scam calls -- my Verizon plan has spam call filtration. Plus, you may be able to detect and even block some spam calls using your iPhone or Android’s software settings, no third-party app required. Apple’s iOS 13 and later lets you silence unknown callers, while some Android devices allow you to toggle on settings to filter and block spam phone calls. Nevertheless, it probably can’t hurt to try NordVPN’s scam call protection, because anything that might reduce the number of messages I get about my car’s extended warranty would be great.
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