NordVPN Launch Call Protection Feature for Android Users in the UK

The NordVPN service, which is a familiar Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider, has today announced that they’ve expanded the availability of their Call Protection feature (formerly known as scam call protection) – initially only available across the USA – to also cover Android users in the United Kingdom and Canada. Support for iPhone users is coming soon.

The rebranding to “Call Protection” is said to reflect the provider’s focus on moving beyond scam detection and including more detailed caller identification as part of the service. In short, the feature gives an early warning, notifying the recipient of a potential scam attempt before they can pick up the phone. NordVPN does this by examining “call patterns and metadata to spot potential scams“, without touching your actual conversations.

The feature also runs quietly in the background without needing an active VPN connection. Customers of the NordVPN service in the UK need only open their Android app, navigate to the “Threat Protection” tab, and toggle the feature on. The app will then guide them through updating the necessary Android settings.

In addition, NordVPN are planning to introduce a “user reporting system” in the future, which will let people flag suspicious numbers, helping to strengthen the scam database for everyone.

Domininkas Virbickas, Product Director at NordVPN, said:

“Scam calls are a global problem that requires a global solution. By expanding call protection to the UK and Canada, we’re taking another step toward our goal of making phone communication safer and more transparent for users worldwide. We want to give people the context they need to make informed decisions about every call.”

Admittedly, while such features are always welcome, it’s worth pointing out that many modern Android Smartphones already work with UK mobile operators to provide a user reporting system and most mobile operators have already adopted sophisticated network-level scam call and spam detection systems (these often block such calls before they even reach you).