U Mobile has shared an update on its network-level scam protection, and the numbers are rather staggering. Since the initiative launched back in February, it has blocked over 265 million scam calls and fraudulent SMS across its 4G and 5G networks.
The telco has been working with Dublin-based Cellusys, a specialist in signalling security, to put this system in place. It’s a partnership that U Mobile says makes it the first operator in Malaysia to roll out full-scale, network-level scam protection of this kind.
The move comes at a crucial time. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, a rather worrying 73% of Malaysians report having received scam calls or dodgy texts. That figure puts the country among the most affected in South-East Asia, with households, older people, and vulnerable groups being particularly targeted.
So, how does it actually work? U Mobile is using Cellusys’s Unified Signalling, SMS and Voice Firewall. Instead of just relying on device-level filters, the solution operates at the core network. It screens every inbound call and message, blocking anything that looks suspicious before it ever reaches your phone. The system analyses traffic at the signalling layer – the authoritative backbone of the network – to spot anomalies and fraudulent patterns with a high degree of precision.
Crucially, it’s been tuned to local threat patterns here in Malaysia. Using behavioural and signalling-layer detection, it keeps an eye on both voice and messaging channels, aims for strong accuracy with few false alarms, and constantly adapts as the scammers change their tactics.
For U Mobile, this isn’t just about blocking nuisance calls. The company says the initiative underscores its commitment to customer safety, while also helping to bolster the country’s overall digital resilience and support national efforts to combat fraud.