Klarna has launched an in-app call verification tool across the Nordics to help customers identify genuine calls.
Sweden-based Klarna has announced that its in-app Call Status Detection feature is now live across the Nordic region, giving customers a way to check whether a call claiming to be from the company is genuine. The tool is designed to help users identify impersonation attempts during live phone calls, adding to the company's existing suite of anti-fraud measures.
How the feature works
Call Status Detection integrates with the Klarna app to provide real-time verification during phone calls. When a customer receives a call from someone claiming to represent Klarna, they can open the app and check a banner displayed at the top of the screen. A green banner confirms the call has been verified as genuine, while an amber banner indicates Klarna cannot verify the call, signalling that the customer should end it.
The feature extends the Klarna Inbox, a tool previously introduced to let customers verify written communications such as emails, text messages, and letters claiming to originate from the company. Together, the two features are intended to give customers a consistent way to check the authenticity of both written and verbal contact points.
Call Status Detection will be enabled by default for iOS users in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark, with the company stating that additional regions will follow. Android users will need to activate the feature manually through their Klarna app settings.
Industry context
Impersonation fraud targeting banks and payment providers over the phone has become one of the faster-growing categories of financial crime, partly because caller ID information can be spoofed with relative ease, allowing fraudsters to appear as though they are calling from a legitimate institution. According to the European Central Bank, fraudsters steal more than EUR four billion annually across Europe.
Woody Malouf, Klarna's Head of Financial Crime, said scammers are becoming more sophisticated and that the company aims to help consumers respond, noting that Call Status Detection is intended to work alongside the Inbox feature to give customers a quick way to verify contact and protect their funds.
The launch reflects a broader trend among digital banks and payment providers to build fraud-prevention tools directly into consumer-facing apps, rather than relying solely on backend detection systems. In addition, as phone-based impersonation scams continue to affect the payments sector, real-time verification tools of this kind may become a more common feature among providers seeking to reduce customer exposure to social engineering attacks, particularly in markets where regulators have flagged rising fraud losses as a persistent concern.
