Google’s June Android Drop Could End AI Scam Calls for Good
Google’s June Android Drop Could End AI Scam Calls for Good
https://lifehacker.com/tech/googles-june-android-drop-could-end-ai-scam-calls-for-good
Publish Date: 2026-06-03 18:15:00
Source Domain: lifehacker.com
An increasing number of powerful AI tools are now available to play around with, and they’re becoming available to hackers and scammers as well as everyone else—which means a whole new set of attacks and dangers to watch out for. In the June Android Drop, Google’s taking direct action against AI deepfake calls.
Here’s how it works: A scammer sets up a call that appears to be from your mom. The caller ID is spoofed, and thanks to AI, it looks like your mom and it sounds like your mom. Before you can think of an excuse to not come home for Christmas, she’s demanding $100 to cover an emergency with the plumbing.
With fake call detection, rolling out now in the Google Phone app on devices running Android 12 or later, that call should be flagged. You’ll see a message on screen saying that your mom may not actually be your mom, and encouraging you to hang up. (Then you can call her from your end, to see if she really does need the money.)
The scam detection works through a digital handshake in the background.
Credit: Google
Google says this detection works through the Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging protocol, so both you and your trusted contacts will need to have RCS enabled in Google Messages. When someone calls you, a “silent confirmation signal” gets sent in the background from their phone to yours, verifying their phone and identifying them as one of your contacts.
If the call is from a deepfaked AI character, that signal will be missing, and the Phone app will tell you about it. The security feature is going to be on by default once the update rolls out, though you can turn it off through the settings screen in the Google Phone app (tap the menu button, top left, to find them).
It’s a reminder of the highly realistic audio and video that AI is capable of producing now, which contributes to…
