The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to carry out scams is increasingly becoming a global concern. Many people are unaware of the role AI plays in creating convincing fraud operations. The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), in collaboration with Feedzai, reported that globally, 31% of respondents weren’t sure if AI was involved in scams they encountered, showing how these attacks are becoming harder to identify. The report also shows that phone calls and text remain the primary methods for initial contact, though WhatsApp, Instagram, and Gmail are also frequently targeted.
To combat these evolving threats, Google has launched two industry-leading AI-powered scam detection features for Android users. They are designed to protect users from conversational scams. Conversational scams are attacks which seem harmless at first but then evolve into a dangerous situation.
Traditional spam protections usually work by blocking suspicious messages before conversations begin. This is no longer effective as modern scammers use social engineering techniques in the middle of the conversation to manipulate victims. To address this challenge, Google developed intelligent AI models that can detect suspicious patterns and provide real-time warnings throughout a conversation, all while protecting the user’s privacy.
Scam Detection for Text Messages
Google continues building on its existing spam protection in Google Messages. This new Scam Detection feature can identify a wider range of fraudulent activities. This system uses on-device AI to monitor conversations in real-time, even after initial messages have been received and seemed legitimate.
When the AI detects suspicious patterns in SMS, MMS, or RCS messages, users receive an immediate warning about the potential scam. Users can then decide to dismiss the warning or report and block the sender. Users’ privacy still remains protected while using this feature because all message processing happens directly on your device. Users conversations stay private – only if they choose to report a conversation will sender details and recent messages with that sender be shared with Google and carriers.
Scam Detection for Phone Calls
The new call protection system works in a similar way by using on-device AI to analyze conversations in real-time. Google explains that if a scam caller tries to convince a user to make payments using gift cards, the system will immediately trigger audio and haptic alerts while displaying a warning on the user’s screen that the call may be a scam. Similar to Scam Detection in messaging, Google has built this feature to protect users’ privacy by processing everything on-device. These features are off by default and users can choose to enable them at any point.
According to Google’s research and feedback from its beta testers, these alerts have already helped people become more cautious during phone calls, recognize suspicious activity faster, and avoid falling victim to conversational scams.
Google states that they are committed to keeping users safe by continuously improving defenses against increasingly sophisticated scams, while investing in intelligent protection. “We’re constantly working with our partners across the Android ecosystem to help bring new security features to even more users. Together, we’re always working to keep you safe on Android.”
About the author:
