Spam call chaos in South Africa

While many South Africans have complained of a spike in spam calls over the past month, the Information Regulator says it hasn’t seen a significant increase in formal complaints.

According to Tshepo Boikanyo, the executive overseeing the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) at the watchdog, this is because many South Africans believe they will be compensated for reporting offenders.

When they realise this isn’t the case, they often abandon their complaints.

“When these complaints come to us, we investigate them, and sometime during the course of the investigation, we pick up that data subjects do not have the appetite to continue with these,” Boikanyo told Newzroom Afrika.

“They will then say to us that they thought they would get compensated through the process. Our provisions do not allow for data subjects to get compensation.”

MyBroadband recently took a snap poll among readers to get their input on the recent surge in spam calls.

“I received five calls this morning alone. Blocked, reported as robocaller or telemarketer, and moved on with my life. It’s not just spam calls, either. The email marketing guys are also upping their game immensely!” a MyBroadband forum member said.

Another said spam calls have killed the use of phone calls as a business tool.

“I can’t believe anyone is still answering calls from anyone outside of your address book. Email me, WhatsApp me, or even SMS me. Trying to call is a lost cause. I won’t answer,” they added.

However, the Information Regulator said it had only received two complaints in recent weeks relating to direct marketing or spam calls.

This is despite the Information Regulator cracking the whip against unsolicited direct marketing in South Africa.

In February 2024, the information watchdog issued a guidance note specifying that telemarketing amounts to electronic communication and must be regulated under POPIA.

It will investigate companies found guilty of contravening POPIA and issue them with enforcement notices if necessary.

“Following receipt of a complaint on direct marketing, we would conduct an investigation, which may be followed by an enforcement notice,” it said.

However, it noted that it may also carry out a section 89 assessment on its own without a complaint or by request, which will be followed by an assessment report. The assessment report is equivalent to an enforcement notice.

So far, it has only issued an enforcement notice to one company — FT Rams Consulting — for contravening POPIA.

The notice was issued in February 2024 after FT Rams failed to comply with the Information Regulator’s instructions.

It said the company must ensure that the first communication they send to data subjects requests their consent, and it must only approach each data subject once for consent.

It gave FT Rams Consulting 90 days to comply and send proof. However, it failed to do so, resulting in the issuing of an enfocement notice. The Information Regulator said failing to comply with its instructions could land company directors a R10 million fine or jail time.

Insurance companies, finance firms, debt collectors, telecommunications companies, political parties, and malicious actors committing immigration fraud are among the most-complained-about spam callers in South Africa.

This is according to South Africa’s Information Regulator and popular call-monitoring and blocking platform, TrueCaller.

“The Regulator has in the past financial year received complaints against insurance companies where complainants would have alleged that they have been spammed,” the Information Regulator told MyBroadband.

It noted that while complaints tend to vary and frequently relate to other business types, complaints about spam calls from insurance companies are the most common.

While TrueCaller couldn’t share exact figures, it listed insurance companies, finance firms, debt collectors, telecommunications companies, political parties, and malicious actors committing immigration fraud as being highly complained about.