Google tests AI to detect scam phone calls. Privacy advocates are terrified. (2024)

Some privacy advocates say they’re terrified by Google’s announcement this week that it’s testing a way to scan people’s phone calls in real time for signs of financial scams.

Google unveiled the idea Tuesday at Google I/O, its conference for software developers. Dave Burke, a Google vice president for engineering, said the company is trying out a feature that uses artificial intelligence to detect patterns associated with scams and then alert Android phone users when suspected scams are in progress.

Burke described the idea as a security feature and provided an example. Onstage, he got a demonstration call from someone impersonating a bank who suggested that he move his savings to a new account to keep it safe. Burke’s phone flashed a notification: “Likely scam: Banks will never ask you to move your money to keep it safe,” with an option to end the call.

“Gemini Nano alerts me the second it detects suspicious activity,” Burke said, using the name of a Google-developed AI model. He didn’t specify what signals the software uses to determine a conversation is suspicious.

The demonstration drew applause from the conference’s in-person audience in Mountain View, California, but some privacy advocates said the idea threatened to open a Pandora’s box as tech companies race to one-up one another on AI-enabled features for consumers. In interviews and in statements online, they said there were numerous ways the software could be abused by private surveillance companies, government agents, stalkers or others who might want to eavesdrop on other people’s phone calls.

Burke said onstage that the feature wouldn’t transfer data off phones, providing what he said was a layer of potential protection “so the audio processing stays completely private.”

But privacy advocates said on-device processing could still be vulnerable to intrusion by determined hackers, acquaintances with access to phones or government officials with subpoenas demanding audio files or transcripts.

Burke didn’t say what kind of security controls Google would have, and Google didn’t respond to requests for additional information.

“J. Edgar Hoover would be jealous,” said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, an advocacy group based in New York. Hoover, who died in 1972, was director of the FBI for decades and used wiretaps extensively, including on civil rights figures.

Cahn said the implications of Google’s idea were “terrifying,” especially for vulnerable people such as political dissidents or people seeking abortions.

“The phone calls we make on our devices can be one of the most private things we do,” he said.

“It’s very easy for advertisers to scrape every search we make, every URL we click, but what we actually say on our devices, into the microphone, historically hasn’t been monitored,” he said.

It’s not clear when or whether Google would implement the idea. Burke said onstage that the company would have more to say in the summer. Tech companies frequently test ideas they never release to the public.

Google has wide reach in the mobile phone market because it’s behind the most widely used version of the Android mobile operating system. About 43% of mobile devices in the U.S. run on Android, and about 71% of mobile devices worldwide do so, according to the analytics firm StatCounter.

“Android can help protect you from the bad guys, no matter how they try to reach you,” Burke said.

Meredith Whittaker, a former Google employee, was among those to criticize the scam-detection idea. Whittaker is now president of the Signal Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports the privacy-centric messaging app Signal.

“This is incredibly dangerous,” Whittaker wrote on X.

“From detecting ‘scams’ it’s a short step to ‘detecting patterns commonly associated w/ seeking reproductive care’ or ‘commonly associated w/ providing LGBTQ resources’ or ‘commonly associated with tech worker whistleblowing,’” she wrote.

When Google posted about the idea on X, it got hundreds of responses, including many positive ones. Some said the idea was clever, and others said they were tired of frequent phone calls from scammers.

Americans ages 60 and older lost $3.4 billion last year to reported digital fraud, according to the FBI.

Tech companies have sometimes resisted dragnet-style scanning of people’s data. Last year, Apple rejected a request to scan all cloud-based photos for child sexual abuse material, saying scanning for one type of content opens the door for “bulk surveillance,” Wired magazine reported.

But some tech companies do scan massive amounts of data for insights related to targeted online advertising. Google scanned the emails of non-paying Gmail users for advertising purposes until it ended the practice in 2017 under criticism from privacy advocates.

Kristian Hammond, a computer science professor at Northwestern University, said the Google call-scanning idea is the result of a “feature war” in which the big players in AI technology “are continually trying to one-up each other with the newest whiz-bang feature.”

“We have these micro-releases that are moving fast. And they’re not necessary, and they’re not consumer-focused,” he said.

He said the advances in AI models are legitimately exciting, but he said it was still too early to see what ideas from tech companies would take off.

“They haven’t quite figured out what to do with this technology yet,” he said.

David Ingram

David Ingram covers tech for NBC News.

Google tests AI to detect scam phone calls. Privacy advocates are terrified. (2024)

FAQs

Google tests AI to detect scam phone calls. Privacy advocates are terrified.? ›

Privacy advocates are terrified. Some privacy advocates say they're terrified by Google's announcement this week that it's testing a way to scan people's phone calls in real time for signs of financial scams. Google unveiled the idea Tuesday at Google I/O, its conference for software developers.

Can AI detect scam calls? ›

Google's Newest AI Can Listen In on Calls to Detect Scammers | Inc.com.

What do I do if I receive a suspicious phone call? ›

Consumer Tips

Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately. You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a "local" number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.

Does Google contact you by phone? ›

You may receive calls from Google operators for the purposes of development, customer service, or support related to your Google Ads, Google Play, or other Google accounts. However, Google will never ask you for payment information over the phone or guarantee you favorable placement in our products.

How do I report a suspicious phone call? ›

If you have not lost any money or responded to the call, you should report report scam call numbers free of charge to 7726. Your provider can find our where the call came from and block or ban the number. caller's number.

What is the app that checks for scam calls? ›

With Truecaller, you can identify and block spam calls or SMS, and search for unknown numbers with ease. Leveraging a community-based spam list from over 400 million users and offering a range of thoughtfully designed features, Truecaller ensures the safety and security of your communication like no other app.

How accurate is AI detection? ›

That said, AI detectors can't guarantee anywhere close to 100% accuracy because they are based in large part on probabilities. Not to mention, each of the detectors use different datasets of content to train them. So, they can often provide different results from one another.

Is it better to ignore or decline spam calls? ›

It's better to ignore spam calls. When you decline a call, it can alert the spammer that your phone number is active, prompting them to call you again. If you use a call-blocking tool that uses caller ID, you should never answer calls labelled as spam.

What happens if you call back a phone scammer? ›

When you call back a spam number, you're playing directly into the scammer's hands. You could expose sensitive data on the call or make yourself a target for further scam attempts.

What happens if you answer a spam call but don't say anything? ›

If you accidentally answer a spam call, scammers know your number is connected to a real person and can target you with more spam calls. These targeted spam calls will try to trick you into giving up your personal information which allows cybercriminals to steal your money, your identity and even your voice.

What happens if you press 2 on a spam call? ›

Robocalls sometimes prompt you to take action, such as “press 1 to speak to a live representative” or “press 2 to unsubscribe” and so on. By following instructions, you confirm to the robocallers that you are a potential victim and invite further robocalls. Try to avoid taking any action.

Can someone tell if you Google their phone number? ›

Starting “early next year,” Google will be able to notify you if your personal info, such as your phone number, email, or home address, shows up in search results as part of its “results about you” tool.

Is Google listening to my phone calls? ›

If you're an Android user, Google is likely listening to you constantly. It might not be listening all the time if you're on a different operating system, but chances are good someone's still trying to eavesdrop on you. Luckily, you can disable voice assistants that record your audio in your phone settings.

What numbers should you avoid answering? ›

Things You Should Know

Ignore calls from 3-digit international area codes that are likely to be scams, including 232, 268, 284, 473, 664, 649, 767, 809, 829, 849, and 876. Be wary of calls from unknown numbers with your own area code. These may be international caller ID spoof scams that appear local.

What happens if I accidentally answered a spam call? ›

Once you've answered a spam call, the caller recognizes your phone number as a good target. An answered call may trigger more calls since they know your phone number is valid and working. As an added layer of protection, don't give out your cell phone number to further protect yourself from unsolicited calls.

How do you check if a number is a spam call? ›

One way to check if a number is potentially a scam is to use a reverse phone number lookup service. These websites and apps allow you to enter a number and see public information associated with it, such as the registered name, location, and carrier.

Can AI detect spam? ›

AI tools have been developed to fight against this issue with very accurate accuracy and efficiency. These, like any other AI tool, have been trained on a different data set of billions of data to learn from it and catch the spam quickly within a few seconds.

Can AI recognize dishonesty? ›

The results showed an average accuracy in detecting lies of 80%, with a better performance in unmasking false opinions. The authors concede that, because it was only tested in a laboratory setting with fabricated texts, the reliability of the algorithm is still limited.

Can my phone detect spam calls? ›

Most phone devices have embedded systems that are used to filter or flag incoming calls based on information held in their own databases. Some examples include: Truecaller, which is commonly used on Android and iOS devices, as well as Nomorobo, Whoscall, Showcaller, Hiya, etc.

Can call spoofing be detected? ›

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find out who exactly has been spoofing your number. Depending on the specific method the scammer used, tracking down who has been spoofing your number may only be possible by contacting law enforcement or your telephone company.

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