Google has introduced AI-powered features to detect scams in calls and text messages, aimed at protecting users from sophisticated scams.
Google Messages and Calls now include features designed to combat conversational scams that may seem harmless at first.
Why it matters
In 2024, scammers used advanced tactics and generative AI tools to steal over $1 trillion from mobile consumers worldwide, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.
With the majority of scams now delivered through phone calls and text messages, Google found a way to make Android’s safeguards even more intelligent to keep your financial information and data safe.
Google has invested in new intelligent AI models capable of detecting suspicious patterns and delivering real-time warnings over the course of a conversation, all while prioritizing user privacy, something traditional spam protections cannot promise.
How it works
Scam Detection in Google Messages uses AI to detect conversational scams in real time. If the on-device AI identifies suspicious patterns in SMS, MMS, or RCS messages, users will receive a warning about a potential scam, along with options to dismiss or report and block the sender.
During calls, Google uses on-device AI to analyze conversational time and alert users about potential scams. If a caller asks you to pay with gift cards for delivery, Scam Detection will notify you with sound, vibrations, and a warning message on your phone that the call may be a scam.
Users can turn off Scam Detection at any time, during an individual call or for all future calls.
Scam Detection in Google Messages is launching in English first in the U.S., U.K. and Canada and will expand to more countries soon.
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