Google steps up AI scam protection in India, but gaps remain

Google is bringing extra AI muscle to India’s battle in opposition to digital fraud, rolling out on-device rip-off detection for Pixel 9 gadgets and new screen-sharing alerts for monetary apps.

Digital fraud continues to rise in India as extra folks come on-line for the primary time and more and more depend on smartphones for funds, buying, and accessing authorities companies. Fraud involving digital transactions accounted for more than half of all reported bank fraud in 2024 — 13,516 circumstances leading to losses of ₹5.2 billion (about $58.61 million), in accordance with the Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI). On-line scams caused an estimated ₹70 billion (roughly $789 million) in losses within the first 5 months of 2025, the Ministry of Dwelling Affairs stated. Many incidents seemingly go unreported, both as a result of victims are not sure the right way to file a grievance or want to keep away from extra scrutiny.

On Thursday, Google announced the growth of its real-time scam-detection function, which makes use of Gemini Nano to investigate calls on-device and flag potential fraud with out recording audio or sending knowledge to Google’s servers. The function is off by default and applies solely to calls from unknown numbers, and it performs a beep through the dialog to inform individuals. It debuted in the U.S. in March as a beta for English-speaking Pixel 9 customers.

Google confirmed to TechCrunch that its on-device rip-off detection will initially work solely on Pixel 9 and later fashions in India and will probably be restricted to English-speaking customers, with its warning additionally English solely. That restricts its attain in a market the place Android accounts for nearly 96% of smartphones, per Statcounter, however Pixel gadgets held less than 1% share in 2024. The language limitation can also be notable in a rustic the place most customers primarily depend on non-English languages — an viewers that Google and others like Amazon have acknowledged by including assist for Indian languages throughout their companies lately.

The tech large did say it was working to convey rip-off detection to non-Pixel Android telephones, as properly, with out providing a timeline.

Google additionally introduced a pilot in India with monetary apps Navi, Paytm, and Google Pay aimed toward limiting screen-sharing scams, during which fraudsters persuade victims to share their screens to acquire one-time passwords, PINs, and different credentials throughout a name. The function was first announced at Google I/O in Could and initially examined within the U.Ok.

Customers with gadgets operating Android 11 or later will be capable to entry the alerts, which embody a one-tap choice to finish the decision and cease display screen sharing. Google confirmed to TechCrunch that it plans so as to add extra app companions and the function will show alerts in Indian languages as properly however didn’t present particulars.

For a number of months, Google has additionally been using its Play Protect service to limit predatory mortgage apps in India by blocking the sideloading of third-party apps that request delicate permissions typically exploited for fraud. The corporate stated the service blocked greater than 115 million such set up makes an attempt this yr. Google Pay, in the meantime, surfaces greater than 1,000,000 warnings every week for transactions flagged as doubtlessly fraudulent, in accordance with the corporate.

Google can also be operating its DigiKavach consciousness marketing campaign on digital fraud, which it stated has reached greater than 250 million folks. The corporate has labored with the Reserve Financial institution of India to publish a public listing of approved digital lending apps and their related non-banking monetary corporations to assist restrict malicious actors.

Earlier this yr, Google launched a Safety Charter in India to increase its AI-driven fraud detection and safety efforts, a part of a broader plan to deploy extra AI instruments within the nation to handle rising fraud.

But Google nonetheless faces vital gaps in curbing digital fraud in India. The corporate — like Apple — has been questioned for allowing fake and misleading apps to look on its app retailer regardless of assessment processes meant to dam fraudulent submissions.

In recent times, police and security researchers have flagged funding and mortgage apps utilized in scams that remained out there on the Play Retailer till intervention. These circumstances underscore the challenges Google faces in policing an ecosystem that dominates the nation’s smartphone market.