What you need to know
- Google is adding new in-call scam protection tools to Android for users in the United States.
- Android now warns users when they share screens with unknown numbers during financial app calls.
- A 30-second alert aims to break scammer manipulation and prevent sharing sensitive banking details.
Google has recently been on a roll against scammers and fraudsters, integrating more and more safety tools into Android. Now, the company is rolling out another protective feature for all Android users in the U.S.
Google, in a blog post, notes that while the company is improving security features on Android, scammers continue to evolve as well. They now use “sophisticated social engineering tactics,” forcing users to open malicious websites or download harmful apps that leak their information.
One tactic that modern scammers use is impersonating a bank executive during a call and convincing users to share their screen to reveal banking information or make a bank transfer.
Google adds new in-call safety checks in the US
That’s why Google is launching a new in-call protection feature for financial apps. Now, whenever you’re on a call and sharing your screen with a phone number that isn’t saved in your contacts, your Android phone will automatically pause and warn you about the risks. Android will then give you the option to end the call or stop screen sharing with a single tap.
To make this even clearer, Android will place a full 30-second warning before you can continue the call. Google says this is meant to “break the spell of the scammer’s social engineering” and reduce the chances of you being manipulated into sharing sensitive banking details.
This feature is already available in countries like the UK, India, and Brazil, and now Google is expanding it to the U.S. In the U.S., Google will apply these protections not only during calls involving banking apps like JPMorgan Chase, but also peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps such as Cash App.
Google says this feature has already helped thousands of users and hopes it will continue to do so as it expands to more countries.
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