Android expands pilot for in-call scam protection for financial apps

Publisher excerpt From Google Online Security Blog

Posted by Aden Haussmann, Associate Product Manager and Sumeet Sharma, Play Partnerships Trust & Safety Lead Android uses the best of Google AI and our advanced security expertise to tackle mobile scams from every angle. Over the last few years, we’ve launched industry-leading features to detect scams and protect users across phone calls, text messages and messaging app chat notifications. These efforts are making a real difference in the lives of Android users. According to a recent YouGov survey1 commissioned by Google, Android users were 58% more likely than iOS users to report they had not received any scam texts in the prior week2. But our work doesn’t stop there. Scammers are continuously evolving, using more sophisticated social engineering tactics to trick users into sharing their phone screen while on the phone to visit malicious websites, reveal sensitive information, send funds or download harmful apps. One popular scam involves criminals impersonating banks or other trusted institutions on the phone to try to manipulate victims into sharing their screen in order to reveal banking information or make a financial transfer. To help combat these types of financial scams, we launched a pilot earlier this year in the UK focused on in-call protections for financial apps. How the in-call scam protection works on Android When you launch a participating financial app while screen sharing and on a phone call with a number that is not saved in your contacts, your And…

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