• NordVPN has launched Call Protection for iPhone users worldwide.
• The tool runs in the background, analyzing call patterns and metadata to flag potential scam calls in real-time.
• Research from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance shows consumers globally lost roughly $442 billion to scams in the past year.

NordVPN has announced it is rolling out its Call Protection feature to iPhone users worldwide.

Designed to help people spot and dodge fraudulent calls before they pick up the phone, the tool provides a real-time warning to keep users one step ahead of scammers.

While NordVPN has long been a heavyweight contender for the title of best VPN, this latest iOS update underscores the company's shift toward becoming an all-encompassing digital privacy and security suite.

The scale of the scam call problem cannot be overstated. According to recent research from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), consumers across 42 countries lost roughly $442 billion to scams over the past year alone. Even more alarmingly, 57% of adults worldwide report having been scammed during that same period.

By bringing Call Protection to iPhone users worldwide, NordVPN is trying to stop scam calls before they get started.

A privacy-first approach to call screening

Giving a third-party app access to your incoming calls can sound daunting from a privacy perspective, but NordVPN claims its tool is built strictly with data security in mind.

The Call Protection feature utilizes a privacy-first approach that analyzes call patterns and metadata to spot potential scams.

Crucially, NordVPN says the feature accomplishes this without ever touching or listening to your actual conversations. It runs quietly in the background, meaning it doesn't even require an active VPN connection to screen out bad actors.

By throwing up an early warning notification on the screen, the tool puts the recipient on high alert. That extra warning gives people time to think before they answer, which can help them avoid scams and fraud.

"Protecting people from scam calls on Android was only ever half the picture, and iPhone users deserve that same level of defense," says Domininkas Virbickas, product director at NordVPN.

"Our job is to make sure that wherever people are, whatever device they use, they have a real line of defense."

How to enable Call Protection on your iPhone

Setting up Call Protection is incredibly straightforward, though you will need to give the app permission to manage your caller ID settings.

To activate the feature, iPhone users simply need to open their NordVPN app and navigate to the "Products hub" tab.

From there, select "Call Protection" and toggle the feature on. The application will then automatically guide you through updating the necessary iOS settings to allow the background screening to function.

Once the initial setup is complete, Call Protection will run silently in the background, giving you a real-time heads-up whenever a known scammer tries to ring your device.

The introduction of iOS call screening joins NordVPN's existing roster of built-in security tools, which currently includes a next-generation antivirus suite, advanced phishing and malware protection, and its proprietary Dark Web Monitor.