Google has announced a new wave of AI-powered scam protection features in India, a country facing an unprecedented rise in digital fraud. The update introduces on-device call scam detection for Pixel 9 devices and screen-sharing alerts for key financial apps, but limitations in language support, device availability, and app-store safety underscore the gaps that still exist.

India’s digital fraud crisis continues to escalate as more people shift to online transactions, mobile banking, and government services. According to the Reserve Bank of India, over 13,516 cases of digital transaction fraud occurred in 2024, causing losses of ₹5.2 billion. The Ministry of Home Affairs estimates that the first five months of 2025 alone saw ₹70 billion lost to online scams, with many cases going unreported.

On-Device Scam Detection Comes to Pixel 9 – With Key Limitations

Google’s biggest update is the expansion of real-time scam call detection, powered by Gemini Nano. The AI analyzes calls directly on the device to detect suspicious patterns — without recording audio or sending data to Google.

How it works:

• Runs entirely on-device
• Flags potential scam language during calls
• Active only for unknown numbers
• Plays an alert beep to notify participants
• Off by default; users must enable it manually

While powerful, the feature has significant restrictions:

• Available only on Pixel 9 and newer
  Pixel phones make up less than 1% of India’s Android market.

• English-only support
  Warnings and detection work only in English, despite most of India’s smartphone users relying on local languages.

• No timeline for non-Pixel Android rollout
  Google says broader Android support is planned but offered no date.

This limits reach in a country where Android controls 96% of the market, but multilingual, budget-device users form the majority.

New Screen-Sharing Scam Alerts for Financial Apps

Google also announced a new safety feature designed to stop screen-sharing scams, which have become one of India’s fastest-growing fraud vectors.

The pilot program launches with:

• Navi
• Paytm
• Google Pay

How the alerts work:

• Trigger when users attempt to share screens during sensitive moments
• Warn users about potential fraud
• Offer a one-tap option to end the call and stop sharing
• Available on Android 11 and later
• Alerts will roll out in Indian languages

Google plans to add more financial apps, expanding protection across India’s massive UPI-driven ecosystem.

Play Protect Tightens Restrictions on Predatory Loan Apps

Google’s crackdown on fraudulent lending apps continues through Google Play Protect, which now blocks:

• Sideloaded apps requesting sensitive permissions
• Apps known to misuse contacts, messages, and media for extortion

In 2025 alone, Google says Play Protect blocked over 115 million such installation attempts.

Meanwhile, Google Pay displays over one million warnings weekly for potentially fraudulent transactions.

Google’s awareness campaign DigiKavach has also reached 250 million people, and the company has worked with the RBI to publish a list of authorized digital lending apps.

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Despite Progress, Google Still Faces Major Gaps

While the efforts are meaningful, critical gaps remain:

• Fake apps still slipping into Play Store
  Despite review systems, fraudulent investment and loan apps have repeatedly surfaced on the Play Store, sometimes staying live for weeks before removal.

• Limited device availability for new AI features
  Pixel’s tiny market share makes on-device scam detection nearly invisible at scale.

• Insufficient language support
  English-only detection excludes millions of first-time or rural users who are most at risk.

• Reactionary app moderation
  Many harmful apps are flagged only after:
  • Consumer complaints
  • Police intervention
  • Security researcher reports

This reactive model leaves users exposed.

• Scammers constantly adapt
  From deepfake fraud to AI voice cloning scams, India’s fraud landscape evolves faster than tech safeguards.

The Google AI scam protection India rollout shows a serious effort to strengthen digital safety through real-time detection, better app protections, and financial security alerts. Yet:

• Device limitations
• Language gaps
• App-store vulnerabilities
• And an expanding fraud ecosystem

mean that India’s scam crisis is far from solved.

As Google expands the features beyond Pixel devices and adds Indian-language support, the impact could grow, but until then, millions of users remain exposed in the world’s fastest-growing digital economy.

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