Scammers are using voice cloning and call spoofing to cheat people. To stop this, Google has launched a new ‘Fake Call Detection’ feature. It will be available on Android 12 and newer phones. The feature checks if a call is genuine before you even answer and warns you if it’s fake.
With AI-based voice cloning and call spoofing scams on the rise, Google has introduced a new security feature to protect smartphone users. This new system, called “Fake Call Detection,” is coming to Android phones. Its main job is to check if a call is trustworthy before you even pick it up and warn you if it isn’t.
According to Google’s announcement, this feature will be available on devices running Android 12 or later versions. It is being rolled out in phases to users worldwide. The system will work by default within the Phone by Google app.
The new feature works through a kind of digital ‘handshake’.
When a call comes in, the caller’s and receiver’s phones exchange a verification signal. This acts as a security check to confirm if the call is real. If the system detects a suspicious call, it will send a verification message to the caller’s phone.
If it gets a response like “I am not calling right now,” a warning will pop up on the receiver’s screen. The user will be advised to end the call immediately. Google claims this will help prevent scams where fraudsters use a fake identity.
The company also said that this system uses Rich Communication Services (RCS) technology, which ensures better security and privacy. All data is protected with end-to-end encryption.
Right now, one of the biggest scams is “voice cloning,” a technology that perfectly imitates people’s voices. Scammers also use “number spoofing” to make it look like a call is coming from a trusted relative’s phone number. This makes it very difficult for users to identify who is actually calling. Google noted that reports indicate such scams cause losses of hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. The company also pointed out that impersonation scams, where fraudsters pretend to be bank officials or from government agencies, lead to huge financial losses.
However, for this feature to work, both the person making the call and the person receiving it must be using the supported system and app. So, it won’t provide complete protection in every situation. Still, it is considered a major addition to mobile security. Google’s new system has one simple goal: to keep users safe by verifying the true source of the call, rather than just relying on the voice. The hope is that this will significantly reduce scams where criminals imitate family members or friends.