Losses to fraudulent robocalls to reach $76bn globally next year, as AI-based voice cloning presents new challenges

A new study from Juniper Research found that subscriber losses to fraudulent robocalling will exceed $76 billion globally next year; rising from $64 billion in 2023. It predicts from 2026, losses to robocalling will steadily decline, as frameworks, such as STIR/SHAKEN, and branded calling solutions begin to block fraudulent robocalls efficiently.

The report identified AI-based voice cloning as the primary challenge to diminishing these losses by 2026. AI-based voice cloning uses AI to generate realistic human-like speech in real-time, often imitating a known individual to the subscriber.

Branded Calling to Limit Scope for Fraud

The report urges robocall mitigation vendors to tackle the rise in voice cloning by ensuring that frameworks are able to identify fraudulent robocalls before they are connected to the subscriber. Phone number whitelists, such as the RMD (Robocall Mitigation Database) in the US, provide a substantial tool to authenticate enterprises before the call is made. However, the study predicts branded calling solutions will have the most immediate impact in minimising losses to robocalling scams.

Branded calling solutions display a visual key that quickly informs users of the legitimacy of the call. Frameworks must contain robust verification processes for enterprises using these solutions to build trust amongst subscribers. In turn, the study predicts branded calls will limit the pick-up rate for fraudulent robocalls using AI, and reduce the impact of this emerging threat before subscribers answer calls.

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An extract from the new report, Global Robocall Mitigation & Branded Calling Market 2024-2029, is now available as a free download.