OnGuardAI launches app to flag scam calls in real time

OnGuardAI, a Montréal- and Atlanta-based startup, launched a scam-protection app in the US on Friday to flag fraudulent calls in real time, coinciding with National Financial Awareness Day. The app, designed mainly for seniors, monitors calls for fraud patterns and sends instant alerts to the user and a family member, with all processing done during the call and no data stored afterward. Canadians lost $643 million to fraud in 2024, up nearly 300 percent since 2020, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

As AI enables more and more scam calls, a Canadian startup is trying to prevent financial losses to bad actors over the phone in real time. Richard Gotlieb, “All processing happens in the moment, during the call itself, and once a call ends, no data about it is stored, we never keep recordings or transcripts.” OnGuardAI Montréal- and Atlanta-based OnGuardAI launched a scam-protection app on Friday in the US to coincide with National Financial Awareness Day. The startup says it’s looking to flag and stop fraudulent calls while they’re happening through its app, which monitors calls in real time and sends an instant text to the user and a family member if “fraud patterns” are detected. “All processing happens in the moment, during the call itself,” OnGuardAI co-founder and CEO Richard Gotlieb told BetaKit in an email. “Once a call ends, no data about it is stored, we never keep recordings or transcripts.” The app is mainly designed for seniors, who are disproportionately targeted by phone fraudsters in Canada and the US. It’s a growing problem across age ranges, too: according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians lost $643 million to fraud in 2024, up nearly 300 percent since 2020. Common scams include a caller impersonating a government official to try to obtain information like social insurance numbers, or fake family emergencies that ask for banking credentials. Gotlieb explained in a press release that his father’s experience with a scam caller led him to realize that scam victims can be educated about warning signs but still get tricked into giving scammers their money. RELATED: Flare uncovers phishing campaigns scamming Canadians with fake toll and parking violation texts That’s why OnGuardAI says its tech analyzes speech in real time for “known social engineering tactics,” such as emotional pressure and manipulation. Though other services exist that already do this and flag worrisome calls, OnGuardAI takes it further by sending an immediate text to an associated family member with a list of red flags and suggested actions. Despite beta tests with Canadian users, the OnGuardAI app isn’t yet widely available in Canada due to pricing barriers. “The economics only work where carriers don’t charge for call forwarding,” Gotlieb explained in an email. He added that the app, which is available on a monthly or annual subscription basis, works with Rogers-band carriers, but the team is working on offering availability through Bell and Telus carriers. Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Centre for Ageing Better.