In the wake of rising Voice cloning scams happening around the world today, Google has rolled out a new security feature for Android devices that detects and flags suspected impersonation calls in real time, as the global cost of AI-powered voice cloning fraud continues to soar.
According to global fraud assessments, voice cloning scams contributed to Losses exceeding $400 billion worldwide in 2025.
The feature, known as “fake call detection,” deploys a combination of artificial intelligence + ID spoofing to detect and flag sophisticated voice replication scams.
Announced via Google’s official blog, the feature is now rolling out globally to devices running Android 12 and above, starting with Pixel smartphones. What makes it even interesting is the fact that It operates automatically by default, requiring no manual setup from users.
The feature, rolling out globally to Android 12+ devices, uses a “digital handshake” between devices to verify call authenticity. If a spoofed number is detected, the recipient receives an alert to hang up.
The launch comes amid a sharp rise in impersonation fraud, which has become one of the most pervasive forms of financial crime globally.
INTERPOL’s March 2026 Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment identified impersonation scams as a leading driver of financial losses. Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission reported $2.95 billion in losses from such scams in 2024 alone.
Google says: Imagine your phone rings. The caller ID says “Mom.” You answer, and it sounds exactly like her; she has the same tone, the same voice. However, the person on the other end isn’t your mom — it’s a scammer using AI tools to impersonate her and demand money from you for a fake emergency.
To help protect you from the growing threat of impersonation scams, Android is introducing fake call detection, an industry-first protection that can detect and flag suspected spoofed calls when your contact and you are both using Phone by Google. This builds on our recent launch of verified financial calls, which warns you if a scammer is attempting to impersonate your financial institution.
For users in Nigeria and other emerging markets, where fraudsters increasingly deploy voice cloning tools and spoofed numbers to impersonate trusted contacts, the new feature offers a built-in layer of protection directly on mobile devices.
How Google’s Fake Call Detector Detects and Alerts You of Fake Calls
The new feature is always on by default and works automatically behind the scenes. Think of it like a digital handshake between devices. When a contact calls you and you’re both using Phone by Google, their device sends a silent confirmation signal in real time to your device to verify the call is legitimate and truly coming from the contact’s device. Because this digital handshake uses end-to-end encrypted Rich Communication Services (RCS) technology, it is completely private.
If a scammer tries to impersonate your contact, that initial confirmation signal will be missing. Your device will instantly notice this and ping your contact’s actual device to double-check. If their real device says, “I’m not making a call right now,” you’ll get a warning on your screen advising you to hang up immediately. This proactive alert helps you avoid falling victim to deepfake impersonation and call spoofing in real time. You can disable this feature at any time in the Phone by Google app settings.
Google explained that the technology works like a “digital handshake” between devices. When a call is placed between two contacts using the Phone by Google app, the caller’s device sends a silent, encrypted verification signal confirming the authenticity of the call.
If a fraudster attempts to spoof a number, the signal is absent. In such cases, the recipient’s phone automatically checks with the real contact’s device. If that device confirms no call is being made, the system instantly alerts the user with an on-screen warning, advising them to hang up.
The verification process is powered by Rich Communication Services (RCS), an end-to-end encrypted messaging standard that ensures the exchange remains private and inaccessible to third parties. Google said the system is built on open standards, allowing other manufacturers and developers to adopt similar protections across the broader mobile ecosystem.
“Security shouldn’t be limited to just one type of phone or app. We want to raise the bar across the industry to help protect as many people as possible,” the company said.
Experts say scammers are increasingly combining number spoofing with deepfake voice technology to impersonate family members, employers, or officials—creating highly convincing scenarios that are difficult to detect by ear alone. The new feature is designed to neutralise both tactics simultaneously, reducing reliance on user judgment.
Example of Sophisticated Voice Cloning Scam where A Victim Lost nearly RM 6 Million
A senior citizen lost nearly RM6 million after falling victim to a phone scam.
Selangor Police Chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said the 73-year-old victim, a private sector retiree, received a call in May from a man claiming to be from the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) in Putrajaya, telling her she was involved in a money-laundering case.
He said the call was transferred to another suspect, who introduced himself as a senior police officer from the Sarawak contingent police headquarters and told the victim to declare her assets and savings.
“In June, the victim was instructed to open four bank accounts at Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, AmBank, and Bank Simpanan Nasional. She was then told to deposit her savings into the newly opened accounts.
“She was then told to place all her ATM cards in an envelope and leave it at a playground in USJ 22/1 and to provide her banking information to the suspects,” he said in a statement.
Shazeli said the victim only realised she had been duped after telling her child, who told her that it was a scam, by which time she had lost a total of RM5,996,586.51.
Google Fake Call Detector Availability
Google says it is rolling out fake call detection globally beginning with Android 12+ devices this month by starting with Pixel devices. Google is already the default phone app for the majority of Android devices. If your device uses a different app, you can install Phone by Google from the Play Store and set it as your default phone app to help protect yourself from fake calls.
Security shouldn’t be limited to just one type of phone or app. We want to raise the bar across the industry to help protect as many people as possible. That’s why we built this feature on top of Rich Communication Services (RCS), an open standard – making it possible for other apps and device manufacturers to adopt this technology.
The Phone by Google app, which supports the feature, is already the default dialer on many Android devices. Users with alternative dialer apps can download it from the Play Store and set it as their default to access the protection. The feature can also be turned off manually in settings.
Fake call detection is part of a broader push by Google to strengthen user security across its ecosystem. The company has previously introduced AI-powered scam detection in messaging services and real-time fraud alerts powered by its Gemini Nano model.
As digital fraud becomes more advanced, Google’s latest move signals a shift toward proactive, device-level security aimed at staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
