Text phishing continues to be a major issue, even though most smartphones have moved beyond standard SMS messaging in favor of RCS or iMessage. While Google has already been taking some great measures to protect users from text scams, the data shows that scammers are still looking for ways to get around those safety settings. One way that threat actors have become fond of is to use a device called an SMS blaster, which forces devices to connect to it by downgrading them to 2G connections. This requires the bad actor to carry the blaster around to a localized environment, but once it connects to a device, it can send a barrage of phishing scam texts to the user.
Google previously recommended that users disable 2G connections on their smartphones. However, a recent breakdown of the latest Google Messages beta by the folks at Android Authority suggests that the company is taking another step toward protecting Android users. Google has added code that points toward some kind of dedicated “SMS blaster protection.” Right now, the code specifically seems to only point to a toggle, which suggests users will be able to turn it on and off. Unfortunately, details on how it might work are pretty much nonexistent at the moment.
Added protection to Android’s already strong anti-spam features
While this feature has yet to go live — there also aren’t any exact details on how it would work — it is just one possible addition to what is already a fairly strong arsenal of features that Google employs on Android phones to help keep users safe. And those features continue to grow, too, with Google recently updating Circle to Search to allow users to check texts for scams really easily using one of Android’s best features.
On top of the Circle to Search option, Google has continued to update Android and RCS, which is the underlying service that Google Messages uses to send messages between devices, to include end-to-end encryption as well as higher-quality messaging capabilities. This helps protect your messages while also ensuring that threat actors can’t easily get access to what you’re typing to your friends and family. Because this SMS blaster protection toggle has only been found in the code, thanks to an APK teardown, there is no real information on when it might debut for mainstream users.
However, the fact that Google is looking into the feature suggests that it wants to find a way to curb the use of SMS blasters sooner rather than later. So hopefully there will be more updates about this feature in the coming months. Until then, though, make sure to follow important safety rules when interacting with messages on your Android phone.
