what you should Know
- Google previewed a new Android feature at Google I/O 2024 that uses AI to detect fraud-related phrases in phone calls.
- More than $12 billion was lost in the U.S. to digital theft last year, with phishing scams — including fake phone calls — accounting for the most reports.
- Since the AI Call Detection feature uses artificial intelligence on the device, its use does not have serious privacy implications.
Google I/O 2024 was the most developer-focused developer conference we’ve seen in quite some time, and it was full of AI talk. In fact, the phrase is mentioned in one form or another more than 120 times. For users, most of the AI features mentioned will not have a tangible impact on how they use the technology. That’s with the notable exception of one feature — AI scam call detection — that may turn out to be the most important Android feature added to the platform in years.
Google is testing fraud detection alerts. While the company shared a preview of the feature in action at Google I/O, we don’t currently have a release date or many details. Google has promised to share more details “later this year,” and that’s the best timeline we have. Still, the idea behind the feature is great and it looks impressive in the demos.
We’re testing a new feature that uses the Gemini Nano to provide real-time alerts during a call if it detects conversation patterns commonly associated with fraud. All of this protection happens on the device, so your conversation remains private to you. Stay tuned for more later this year! #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/l87wGCz62xMay 14, 2024
The proposition is simple: AI will help unsuspecting users avoid falling victim to mobile phone fraud. It uses the device’s AI to detect words and phrases often associated with phishing scams and alert the user that the call they are receiving is likely to be a scam. For example, in the demo video, Google showed a fraud detection alert that appeared after a so-called “bank representative” asked the user to transfer funds to a new account.
Essentially, the AI model will be trained to understand what types of requests tend to be fraudulent. The most common type of phishing scam today involves scammers asking people to pay them with gift cards. As such, AI scam call detection can inform a user that a scam is likely after the caller asks to send codes to redeem a gift card.
Surprisingly, the feedback coming from users on social media about AI fraud detection is not overwhelmingly positive. However, this feature has the potential to do the best of anything announced at Google I/O, and here’s why.
People lose billions of dollars to scammers
First, let’s address the obvious question: do we really need AI to tell us not to transfer our savings based on an unsolicited phone call? It may be hard to believe, but the answer is yes. Chances are, if you read Android Central, you probably have a better understanding of tech literacy and internet safety than the average person. Tech enthusiasts can spot scams immediately, and most of us know not to even pick up the phone when we don’t know the number and aren’t expecting a call.
Not everyone is tech-savvy enough to spot fraud quickly and effectively. Elderly people often fall victim to this type of fraud more often than anyone else. We can probably all think of someone in our lives who could be fooled by a scam phone call, especially as scammers evolve and find new ways to try to scam people.
If you’re still not convinced that spam calls are a huge problem in 2024, here are some numbers to back it up. In the blog post announcing the feature, Google cited a study by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance. It was found that in 2023 alone, people around the world lost around $1.026 trillion to fraud and identity theft. The report included 49,459 people from 43 countries and shows how widespread fraud is.
Although these are approximate numbers, we have more specific data in the US. The FBI publishes an Internet Crime Report each year that records reports of online theft and fraud and the amount of money that was stolen. In 2023, there were colossal losses of $12.5 billion due to digital fraud in the US. That’s an increase from $10.3 billion in 2022 and $6.9 billion in 2021. The number of online scams and the amount of money lost is skyrocketing. For reference, only $3.5 billion was lost in 2019 — so the amount of money lost has tripled over a five-year period.
There are different types of online fraud and identity theft that contribute to the Internet Crime Report. But the largest number of complaints reported to the FBI come from phishing scams. In 2023, there were 298,878 reports of phishing scams in the US, more than all reports from the other four categories combined.
For those unfamiliar, phishing scams attempt to trick users into intentionally handing over information or money. When someone calls you pretending to be a bank or the IRS, for example, they’re trying to get your credentials or cash. These are exactly the types of fraud that Google’s fraud detection feature can thwart with the help of AI.
Google won’t listen to your calls — everything is handled on the device
Google’s feature works by analyzing your calls in real time and matching words and phrases to those commonly used in scams. Sounds like a privacy nightmare, right? It’s not really, because Google uses device processing for the whole thing. For years, companies have used device processing to protect certain sensitive types of information from your device. Google has the Titan M2 security chip and Apple has the Secure Enclave.
In this case, Google uses the Gemini Nano model to detect potential fraud in your calls. This means that Google will not be able to listen to your calls or even collect data from them. All of this will happen on your phone using Google’s smallest AI model, without any information being sent to the company.
This comes with its drawbacks such as phone compatibility. Since it uses the Gemini Nano, the scam call detection feature will likely only be compatible with certain phones like the Pixel 8 Pro and the Galaxy S24 series if it launches today. The Gemini Nano is said to be coming to the Pixel 8 later on, and may appear on more phones in the future. But for privacy reasons, only devices capable of running Gemini Nano will be able to use this functionality.
Fraud detection alerts will save so many people from theft
I’ve long said that AI will be far more useful to the casual, uninformed tech user than to the enthusiast — especially early on. A perfect example of this concept is Google’s plan for AI fraud detection alerts. They may not help you or me, but they will help many people avoid scam attempts before they are put in a terrible situation.
These are the kinds of characteristics that can be the difference between making a life-altering mistake and an easily avoided crisis. That’s why, during all the AI nonsense Google brought out at I/O, these fraud detection alerts are what I’m most looking forward to seeing on Android phones.
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