MOBILE owners will notice a new call alert appearing on their screen which they must not ignore.
A new urgent indicator is coming to Android, which lets you know if a friend or family member needs you to pick up immediately.
Known as Call Reason, the feature only works with Android and between contacts you have saved.
Say you’re in a time-sensitive situation – perhaps an emergency regarding a family member – and you need the person you’re calling to pick up right away.
The receiver may be busy in a work meeting and leave you to go through to voicemail normally.
Instead, a button will appear that allows you to mark the call as urgent.
TEXT TERROR
Urgent warning to millions of phone users over ‘takeover’ that steals £100s
ENTER THE FOLD
I’m DITCHING iPhone after 10 years – how new Samsung mobile has convinced me
This will then flag up on the receiver’s screen with a red siren icon and notice saying “it’s urgent” so hopefully they’ll pick up immediately.
If they still miss the call, the urgent indicator will appear in their call history as a reminder to ring back asap.
Call Reason is currently in the beta testing phase but will be rolling out fully to Android soon.
And that’s not the only new trick up Android’s sleeve.
Most read in Phones & Gadgets
The Google-owned operating system has also added a new way to fight bank-raiding scams.
Now you can use the company’s clever Circle to Search tool to check any suspicious chats or texts.
All you have to do is summon Circle to Search – usually by pressing the home button – and drawing a rough circle over the text message.
Google will then check it using its AI search to let you know if it’s likely a scam.
How to protect yourself from scams
BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam:
- Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are “verified” on Facebook and Twitter pages – this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it.
