Google reveals ‘warning message’ rule millions must follow or risk criminals ‘stealing your personal info’ with one text

GOOGLE has an alert system for when it thinks you’re being targeted with a dangerous text message.

Spotting the signs on your Android phone could save you from a sinister (and costly) cyberattack.

Alamy

It’s a key defense against messages designed to extract your personal info.

This is a common route for criminals, as it’s very easy to text a large number of potential victims.

GOOGLE SUSPICIOUS MESSAGE ALERTS

Google says that the alerts not only work on its default messaging app – but other apps too.

“Suspicious message alerts warn you when a message you receive is similar to messages that were used to steal personal information,” Google explained.

“Alerts work across your phone and are supported on popular messaging apps.”

If you’re worried about Google reading your texts, don’t panic.

Google says that your phone will “privately process” the messages on-device.

The contents of the text aren’t being sent up to the cloud to be analyzed for dangerous content.

Google says it doesn’t share your texts with any apps, websites, or companies.

When your phone detects a suspicious text, it’ll give you a warning message.

You can then confirm that it was indeed suspicious by tapping the Report button.

If you hit Report, the text message will be shared and stored by Google – in a bid to protect other users.

And if the sender isn’t one of your contacts then an identifier for them will also be shared.

Phone scam statistics

Americans are bombarded with three billion spam phone calls a month. What are the figures regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters

• In 2022, Americans lost some $39.5 billion to phone scams, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
• The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a major rise on the 2021 figure of $182 per victim, according to Hiya.
• The majority of scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls with 60% of those being robocalls.
• US residents experienced an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the true figure may be as high as 31 per month.
• Many phone calls from reputable businesses may be marked wrongly as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they’re being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
• Never hand over any personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For instance, your bank will never ask you for such details in full over the phone. 
• To cut down on spam phone calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check that list before they call you up.
• Downloading third-party apps such as Hiya, Nomorobo, or Truecaller can help filter out annoying spam calls.
• Try not to share your phone number unless you have to, especially online or with sketchy sources.

But the report won’t be linked to you or any identifiers like your name or phone number, Google says.

TURNED OFF?

If you don’t want suspicious message alerts, you can turn them off very easily.

Just go into the Settings app and then tap on Security > Advanced Settings.

Then go to Suspicious Message Alerts and switch off Show Alerts.

You can switch them back on again at any time.