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Whoscall is a mobile application that offers caller identification services developed by Gogolook Co., Ltd., a listed company in Taiwan.

History

In 2010, the first version of Whoscall was created after one of its co-founders, Jeff Kuo, received a spam call.

Originally a part-time project by Jeff Kuo, Jackie Chang, and Reiny Song as part-time work, the trio co-founded Gogolook with the goal of enhancing fraud prevention efforts worldwide by providing a caller identification solution.

In August 2010, the first version of Whoscall was released on Google Play in several countries and attracted voluntary downloads.

In 2020, Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall, established its overseas office in Fukuoka, Japan.

Features

The function of Whoscall is to identify incoming calls, detect scam/harassment numbers, and filter spam text messages, blocking them accordingly.

Instant Caller Identification

It identifies unknown callers in real time through the largest number database (with 2.6 billion entries) and an AI-powered identification engine.

Caller ID Blocking

It reduces the risks of receiving malicious/harassment phone calls by blocking nuisance calls or text messages automatically.

SMS Message Filtering

It filters dangerous phishing text messages by detecting suspicious URLs and keywords.

Unknown Caller Query

It allows users to key in unknown phone numbers manually and identify such callers in the database.

Number Reporting

It maximizes the power of social network by allowing users to report dangerous/scam phone numbers.

Whoscall Number

It increases phone answer rates, resolves the problem of counterfeit corporate identities, and protects consumers from fraudulent threats, through a number verification mechanism.

URL scanner

It allows users to view the risk level of unknown links by simply entering them within the app, thereby filtering out fraudulent links.

Other services

• In 2021, Whoscall launched "Smart SMS Assistant" feature.
• In 2022, Whoscall launched the "Whoscall Premium Group Sell" on momo shopping online.

Availability

The app owns the largest number database in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

The app currently has over 100 million users, 2.6 billion phone number entries, 25 billion identified number & SMS.

The app is available in 31 countries/regions, including Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Brazil.

Business model

Investors

In 2013, Gogolook received an investment of $11.7 million from Naver Corporation, LINE’s parent company.

In 2020, Gogolook received investment from WIN Semiconductors Corp., the largest GaAs semiconductor foundry in the world.

In 2022, Whoscall's parent company, Gogolook, applies for IPO listing on the Innovation Board.

In 2023, Gogolook went public on the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) of the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).

Strategic partners

Whoscall is also the strategic partner of several governmental agencies in their anti-fraud efforts.

Year	Type	Country	Name	Goal
2016	Memorandum of understanding	Taiwan	National Police Agency	Strengthen its anti-fraud efforts
2017		South Korea	Financial Supervisory Service	Anti-fraud technical exchange
			Korean National Police Agency
2020	Partnership	Japan	Fukuoka City Government	Joint anti-fraud efforts
2021		Thailand	Royal Thai Police
2022			True Corp	Expand anti-fraud business
			Thailand Post	Prevent fraud
	Cross-border cooperation	Malaysia	Government of Selangor	Expand the Southeast Asian market
2023	Memorandum of understanding		Royal Malaysian Police	Fraud prevention cooperation

Other ventures

In 2022, Whoscall joined hands with the Web3 community "Global Citizen Club" to create customized NFT

Other anti-fraud efforts

In 2020, Whoscall released the world’s first COVID-19 Scam White Paper. The release was covered by several media outlets.

Since 2020, Whoscall have been releasing Annual Reports focusing on latest fraud trends, scenarios and industry insights.

In 2022, Gogolook released the “Business Impersonation Report” with the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Reception

Whoscall has been covered in prominent international media including BBC, TechCrunch, TechinAsia, and e27. It has many positive reviews and holds an average of 4.2 star ratings on Google Play Store.

Accolades

Recognition

In Taiwan

In 2011, Whoscall gained traction and propelled itself into the limelight when Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt on a visit to Taiwan, rated the app:

“An app called WhosCall tells you who a strange number is from. It's growing fast in the U.S., India, and China, and it's made in Taiwan.”

On May 20, 2014, Gogolook was mentioned by name during the President of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou's national address marking his 6th year in office.

In 2019, then-Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall.

International

In 2017, Whoscall was chosen by Google as a successful case study on the event Google I/O 2017.

In 2021, Whoscall was listed as one of the anti-fraud apps recommended by the Royal Thai Police.

Anecdote

In April 2014, concerns regarding Whoscall's privacy issues rose to the forefront of national attention as public figures took to the press and expressed their concerns with public records including home telephone numbers and addresses showing up on incoming calling screens.

Gogolook swiftly came out with a statement declaring that they had never collected nor stored any personal information on their servers, let alone made them publicly available.

It was soon discovered that the personal information of the aforementioned public figures was leaked from government servers with poor security protocols that made the information available on search engines, from where Gogolook sources some of their information.

Whoscall was promptly lauded as not only a call screen for telemarketers, but also a reliable reminder for the possible dissemination of personal information.

References

1. Chen, Liz. "不明來電走著瞧——WhosCall 幕後團隊專訪". www.inside.com.tw/. Inside. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
2. "The Best Apps of 2013". Retrieved 15 October 2014.
3. "詐騙簡訊滿天飛 Whoscall推「智慧簡訊管家」辨識垃圾訊息". chinatimes. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
4. "Whoscall進階版團購組合上momo銷售 拓展防詐商機". udn. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
5. "Korean web giant Naver acquires makers of Whoscall".
6. "Gogolook gets funding for further expansion in Japan".
7. "Whoscall公司Gogolook 申請創新板上市". Udn. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
8. "福岡市実証実験フルサポート事業「Beyond Coronavirus」に海外番号の識別もできる迷惑電話対策アプリ「Whoscall」が採択".
9. "Gogolook นำโดยแอป Whoscall ผนึกศูนย์ปราบปรามอาชญากรรมทางเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศ สำนักงานงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ". ryt9.com (in Thai). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
10. "Gogolook攜泰國最大電信集團True Corp 拓展防詐業務". Udn. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
11. "Whoscall ร่วมมือไปรษณีย์ไทย ส่งท้ายปี ส่งต่อความห่วงใยป้องกันภัยมิจฉาชีพ". ztobiz. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
12. MOHAMED, ISKANDAR SHAH (2022-08-25). "4,608 kes 'scammer' di Selangor". Kosmo Digital (in Malay). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
13. "加速拓展東南亞新商機！馬來西亞最大州政府找Gogolook助陣防詐". ctee. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
14. "Jumlah kes jenayah komersial catat penurunan pada tahun 2022 berbanding 2021". Berita RTM. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
15. Wong, Abel (2023-01-06). "Royal Police Malaysia appointed Whoscall to combat fraud and scam phone calls". TechNave. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
16. "Whoscall攜手Web3社群防詐 推333款限量「防詐NFT」". nextapple. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
17. "Whoscall 發表全球第一份「疫情防詐白皮書」，揭手機「簡訊」成疫情詐騙破口".
18. "Scam calls, messages in Taiwan up 488% in 2020". 2 February 2021.
19. "Whoscall《2020 年度報告》：詐騙數量創新高，成長 190%！". 19 May 2021.
20. "《Whoscall 2021年度報告》解析詐騙動態". 經濟日報. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
21. "Gogolook 2022 Annual Fraud Report : Calls and Messages". Whoscall Column. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
22. "Whoscall 母公司公布企業偽冒事件報告書，揭露詐騙風險、趨勢". TechNews. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
23. "Taiwan's front-line battle against mobile phone fraud". BBC News. 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
24. ^ "About Whoscall: Leading Caller ID & Scam Prevention App". whoscall.com. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
25. "Google年度最佳APP　台防詐軟體上榜 | 即時新聞 | 20131205 | 蘋果日報". web.archive.org. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
26. "Whoscall creator wins Taiwan Presidential Innovation Award". September 2020.
27. "Reverse Phone Search". Retrieved 21 May 2023.
28. Startup World Staff. "Taiwanese Startup Brings Whoscall Mobile App to the Middle East Market". www.mystartupworld.com/. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
29. Office of the President. "總統主持520 就職六週年記者會". president.gov.tw. Office of the President. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
30. "【 小英去哪裡 EP8 】安裝防詐騙神器whoscall好安心，小英參訪台灣新創公司Gogolook". YouTube. 2 July 2019.
31. "Google Analytics for Firebase: Overview and Updates (Google I/O '17)". YouTube. 17 May 2017.
32. "วิธีเช็คเบื้องต้นว่า เบอร์ใครโทรมาหาเรา". Facebook.
33. 蔡智銘; 葉濬明. "LINE whoscall | 很會找 名人個資全洩". AppleDailydate=18 February 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
34. 生活中心 (19 February 2014). "輸入電話=肉搜？LINE whoscall | 太強大 個資全曝光". ETToday. Retrieved 15 October 2014.

• For what reason is it imperative to discover who called

• 2010 software
• Anti-spam
• Windows Phone software
• Android (operating system) software
• Caller ID