At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked, Google announced Scam Detection updates for calls and its Messages app.
Google is bringing the on-device Scam Detection introduced for Pixel to the Galaxy S26’s Samsung Phone app. You’ll receive an audio and haptic alert that prompts you to look at your phone’s screen when a potential scam is detected.
Scam Detection is looking for “speech patterns commonly associated with fraud.” Leveraging the local Gemini model, “call audio is processed ephemerally and no conversation audio or transcription is recorded, stored on the device, or sent to Google or third parties.” Scam Detection is “automatically off for anyone in your contacts.”
On Pixel, this is already available in the US, Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, and UK. It’s now coming to the Galaxy S26 in the US. Google wants to bring this capability to more manufacturers in the future.
Google is also leveraging the on-device Gemini model for improved Google Messages Scam Detection. On the “latest Android flagship devices” (like Pixel 10 and S26) in the US, Canada, and UK, Gemini is leveraged for “more nuanced analysis of complex conversational threats.”
This includes better detection of “subtle conversational patterns used in job offer scams or sophisticated romance baiting scams (also known as “pig butchering”), a deceptive tactic where a scammer builds a long-term “relationship” with a potential victim to gain their trust, before tricking them into a fraudulent investment.” This is rolling out now.
Because these methods rely on gradual manipulation and don’t present typical warning signs, they need more advanced capabilities to catch them at scale.
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