Google is further bringing the power of AI to the fight against digital fraud in India, rolling out on-device fraud detection for Pixel 9 devices and new screen sharing alerts for financial apps.
Digital fraud continues to rise in India as more people go online for the first time and rely more on smartphones to make payments, shop and access government services. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), digital transactions accounted for more than half of all bank frauds reported in 2024, with 13,516 cases and losses amounting to 5.2 billion rupees (approximately $58.61 million). Online fraud caused an estimated loss of 70 billion rupees (approximately $789 million) in the first five months of 2025, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Many incidents may go unreported because victims do not know how to file a complaint or want to avoid further investigation.
Google on Thursday announced enhancements to its real-time fraud detection capabilities. This feature uses Gemini Nano to analyze calls on your device and flag potential scams without recording audio or sending data to Google’s servers. This feature is off by default, applies only to calls from unknown numbers, and alerts participants with a beep during the conversation. It debuted in the US in March as a beta for English-speaking Pixel 9 users.
Google confirmed to TechCrunch that on-device fraud detection will initially only work in India on Pixel 9 and newer models, will be limited to English-speaking users, and alerts will only be in English. That will limit its reach in a market where Android accounts for almost 96% of smartphones, while Pixel devices had less than 1% share in 2024, according to Statcounter. Language restrictions are also notable in countries where most users primarily rely on languages other than English. Other companies such as Google and Amazon have also acknowledged their users by adding support for Indian languages across their services in recent years.
The tech giant said it is working to bring fraud detection to Android smartphones other than Pixel, without providing a timeline.
Google also announced trials in India of financial apps Navi, Paytm and Google Pay aimed at limiting screen sharing fraud. In this scam, scammers trick victims into sharing their screen during a call to obtain one-time passwords, PINs, and other credentials. The feature was first announced at Google I/O in May and was first tested in the UK
Users with devices running Android 11 or later will have access to alerts with one-tap options to end calls and stop screen sharing. Google confirmed to TechCrunch that it plans to add more app partners and that the feature will also show alerts in Indian languages, but did not provide further details.
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Google has also been using its Play Protect service for several months to restrict predatory loan apps in India, blocking the sideloading of third-party apps that request sensitive privileges that are often used for fraud. The service has blocked more than 115 million such installation attempts this year, the company said. Meanwhile, Google Pay says it displays more than 1 million alerts each week for transactions flagged as potentially fraudulent.
Google is also running the DigiKavach awareness campaign against digital fraud, which it says has affected more than 250 million people. The company, in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India, has published a public list of authorized digital lending apps and associated non-banking financial companies to restrict malicious actors.
Earlier this year, Google launched its Safety Charter to expand its AI-powered fraud detection and security efforts in India. This is part of a broader plan to introduce more AI tools in the country to tackle rising fraud.
However, Google still faces major gaps in curbing digital fraud in India. The company, like Apple, has been questioned for allowing fake and misleading apps to appear on its app store despite a review process meant to block fraudulent submissions.
In recent years, police and security researchers have flagged investment and loan apps used for fraud and remained available on the Play Store until intervention was taken. The incidents highlight the challenges Google faces in policing the ecosystem that dominates the country’s smartphone market.
