Google announced a package of security updates for Android targeting common scam tactics, including messages that begin as seemingly ordinary conversations before turning into attempts to lure users, the theft of payment data during screen sharing, and the activation of call forwarding without the phone owner’s knowledge.
Warning About Misleading Messages Using Gemini
Google will add an optional setting called Scam Detection to the Messages app. It uses advanced Gemini models to assess the sender’s intent and warn users when a message appears to be associated with a malicious party. The scenario presented by the company involves a sender claiming to have sent a photo to the wrong person, then trying to continue the conversation and find out the recipient’s name after being alerted to the mistake.
Google says message analysis takes place inside Private AI Compute, where data is encrypted and processed in a secure environment that no other party, including Google, can access. Gemini Nano will also use on-device analysis to scan links in Messages before they are opened.
The feature will be available on Google Pixel 10 and later, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Fold 8, as well as select other devices. The optional protection setting is scheduled to begin rolling out in the coming weeks, along with redesigned scam warnings that provide more context and additional time before opening links received from unsaved numbers.
Warnings Before Opening Messages and Protection During Screen Sharing
After launching scam warnings within chat notifications on Pixel devices, Google is working to expand the feature to other devices. The warnings will appear within the message notification itself, allowing users to see them before opening the content. The company expects Honor, Motorola, OPPO, OnePlus, realme, vivo, and Xiaomi to enable this capability later this year.
Later this month, all devices running Android 15 or later will receive automatic protection during screen sharing. Passwords, bank account details, and credit card security numbers will be hidden by default when a Chrome or Android WebView window is visible in a sharing session.
Limiting Call Forwarding and Verifying Bank Identity
Google also plans to roll out call-forwarding protection in early December on Pixel devices and select other devices. The feature will prevent apps from secretly activating call forwarding in the background and will warn users if a scammer tries to persuade them to enter an MMI code, a short sequence of numbers that can be used to activate forwarding.
In Brazil, Google worked with banks to combat the impersonation of banking institutions. Android will perform a verification check on incoming calls purportedly from a bank; if the caller fails the check, the system will end the call and alert the user. According to Google, the feature has blocked more than three million fraudulent calls since its launch in June, with plans to work with additional partner banks.
Why Does This Matter?
Google is combining AI-based analysis, on-device processing, and system-level controls here to address different stages of fraud. However, availability remains varied across devices and markets, and the bank-call verification tool’s arrival date in the United States has not yet been determined. Scam Detection will remain an optional setting when launched, making activation a decisive factor in whether users benefit from it.