improving Android with enhanced security measures — such as advanced features designed to shield you from message fraud — and the company is now advancing further with in-call scam defense that Google claims will assist in identifying if con artists are attempting to gain access to your financial applications. This new feature is included in an expanding pilot initiative, which Google states is now being made available to a larger user base.
Essentially, when you’re on a call and sharing your screen while launching a financial app like your banking application, the new system will verify if the individual you are conversing with is in your contacts. If that individual is not, your Android device will produce a warning indicating that the call is likely a scam, suggesting that fraudsters might be using the call to compromise your finances. The company detailed the feature in a recent security blog entry, and this latest pilot follows closely on the heels of Google’s newest Circle to Search scam verifier, which enables you to circle elements on your screen to check for scams as well.
The whole new system is crafted to disrupt the “influence” that fraudsters can sometimes exert with their social engineering strategies. Google notes that once the warning activates, you will be required to wait for 30 seconds before proceeding. During this interval, the sense of urgency often exploited by scammers should ideally be countered by rational thought, giving you an opportunity to refrain from divulging your banking details to a malicious entity.
As mentioned earlier, the feature initially launched as part of a pilot program in the UK, and Google asserts that it “assisted thousands of users in terminating calls that could have cost them a considerable sum of money.” Certainly,
