Google’s latest fraud advisory update keeps users keen on emerging threats
What you need to know
- Google’s posted an updated fraud and scam advisory ahead of its inaugural Scams Summit.
- The advisory drew awareness to prominent scam attempts involving customer support, package tracking, and toll roads.
- Over the past few months, Google has been rolling out updates to its Phone and Messages app with advanced scam protections for Android users.
Google is updating its advisories surrounding online threats to better inform users of what they (and it) should look out for.
Ahead of Google’s inaugural Scams Summit today (May 28), the company posted an updated advisory, updating the most prevalent scams online. While the post highlights Google’s efforts to combat a wide range of scams, there are still a few exploiting online users, such as customer support threats. These are scams involving nefarious persons who are posing as “legitimate support” to retrieve your personal information.
Google states users should be aware of these when browsing online; however, Chrome might offer some relief.
While the company has “long blocked ads” for third-party support, Chrome has recently received Gemini integration (specifically, Gemini Nano) to better detect and block potential scam attempts.
Elsewhere, Google states text messages are another area where scams remain prominent. Package tracking scams rank quite high, often trying to fool users into believing they must “pay additional fees.” Another scam instance regards toll roads. Google says this type of attack shares a few similarities with package tracking scams, likely due to them being “orchestrated by the same bad actor groups.”
For both attacks, Google says its Messages app has recently received real-time detection capabilities to alert/warn users before anything happens.
Google Advances its Protections
Additionally, Google brought awareness to Malvertising and Fake travel sites in its updated advisory report. Both attempts are largely at play when browsing, even affecting ads seen through Google Search. The company states it has focused more on weeding out these aggressors, taking the appropriate actions against violators of its online policies.
May was chock-full of Google looking to improve its security/defensive measures against malicious users when browsing. A few weeks ago, Google Chrome had an update that launched AI-powered warnings in the browser on Android. Courtesy of Gemini, Chrome will now inform users about potential scams/threats. Moreover, Chrome will also analyze notifications to see if those are malicious, too.
Leading up to I/O 2025, Google’s Android Show detailed the company’s new scam protections for calls and texts. One key aspect was Google’s interest in furthering Android’s software so it can “block certain actions” if it thinks you might be involved in a call scam. The Messages app has been upgraded with the ability to identify new scams, such as toll road/billing, crypto, financial impersonation, and more.
These updates build off Google’s March feature drop, which brought crucial security updates.
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