As it seems there is no end to the online scams in India, Google is taking some baby steps to help you escape the nuisance of fraud. The tech giant has announced a new set of anti-fraud features for Android, Pixel, and Google Pay users. Interestingly, these updates were introduced at the India AI pre-summit event in New Delhi, ahead of the India AI Impact Summit scheduled for 2026.
So, how will these anti-scam features by Google work?
On-Device AI To Detect Scam Calls
One of the biggest announcements is Google’s new AI-powered scam call detection. Pixel phones will soon use Gemini Nano, Google’s on-device AI model, to spot suspicious calls while the call is happening.
The detection happens entirely on the device, which means no audio is recorded, no conversations are uploaded, and no data leaves the phone. The feature is switched off by default and only works for calls coming from unsaved numbers.
New Alert for “Digital Arrest” Scams
India has recently seen a rise in “digital arrest” scams, where victims are manipulated into screen-sharing and guided to banking apps during a call. To counter this, Google is introducing a screen-sharing warning system for Android 11 and above.
If an unknown caller prompts a user to share their screen and then navigates to apps like Google Pay, Navi, or Paytm, Android will show a full-screen warning. With one tap, users can hang up and immediately stop screen-sharing. This feature has been developed with Google Play, Navi, and Paytm.
A New Way To Verify Numbers
Google also introduced Enhanced Phone Number Verification (ePNV) – a new SIM-based verification method that removes the need for SMS OTPs. OTP-based verification has long been a target for fraudsters, especially when used on public Wi-Fi or compromised devices.
With ePNV, users receive a secure on-device prompt to verify their number, making the process safer and quicker. Google Pay will be the first to adopt this.
