Google is introducing advanced AI protections against scam messages and call-forwarding abuse on Android, the company announced this week. The new measures target sophisticated mobile scams that use spoofed numbers, fake bank alerts and voice cloning.
"Mobile scams have evolved far beyond basic robocalls and phishing texts, turning into sophisticated operations that use spoofed numbers, fake bank alerts, and AI voice cloning," Google said in a blog post. "With scams growing harder to spot, it's nearly impossible for users to catch every red flag themselves."
The centerpiece of the update is a new cloud-based Gemini-backed analysis system in Google Messages. It reviews conversations with unknown senders within an encrypted Private AI Compute environment for signs of fraud. Additionally, on-device Gemini Nano checks unfamiliar links using real-time web signals and provides clearer warnings before opening links from unsaved numbers. The cloud protections are disabled by default and users can opt in.
Google says its existing scam detection flags more than five million suspected scam calls and texts each month, and the new features are expected to catch more threats.
Other improvements include expanding on-device scam detection in chat notifications — previously limited to Pixel devices — to more Android devices through partners later this year. Android's sensitive-information masking now covers Chrome and Android WebView, hiding login and payment screens during screen sharing. The system will also block apps from silently enabling call forwarding and warn users before manually entered forwarding codes take effect.
Google is expanding its verified bank calls system, introduced earlier this year, to include more financial institutions. The system checks whether an incoming call originates from a real bank's call center or is a spoofing attempt, and automatically ends unverified calls.