Google is rolling out new Android protections today for scams involving messages, call forwarding and screen sharing. The additions include Enhanced protection mode in Google Messages and an expansion of chat scam alerts to more devices.
Google says the messaging defenses extend to Google Messages as well as messaging apps from other providers. Scam Detection in Google Messages already identifies both conversational scams and more traditional attempts, while Google says attackers are developing subtler methods to evade standard filters.
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The existing AI-powered Scam Detection features in Phone by Google and Google Messages flag more than 5 million suspected scam calls and texts each month, according to Google. Google describes newer mobile fraud tactics that include falsified caller numbers, bogus alerts posing as bank messages and voices cloned using AI.
In a Google survey conducted with YouGov in the U.S., Canada and Australia, 40% of smartphone users expressed very or extremely high concern about mobile fraud. Google also cites research it commissioned from Leviathan Security Group to support its claim that Android offers the highest level of built-in protection against scams and fraud.
