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Follow ZDNET: <\/em>Add us as a favorite source<\/span><\/a><\/span> On Google.<\/em><\/p>\n Scammers love to impersonate businesses you trust so they can convince you to fall into their trap. One tactic they use is to call you pretending to be from your bank or financial institution. The goal is to trick you into sending them money or giving them your account details. Now, Google is rolling out a new security tool that aims to deal with these types of fake calls.<\/p>\n Designed to protect you from financial theft or account compromise, this feature aims to detect fake calls. This is how it works.<\/p>\n First of all, you need to install your bank’s app on your Android device. When you receive a call that appears to come from your bank, Android queries the app for confirmation to determine whether the call is legitimate. If the app detects that no one from the bank is actually calling you, the call is disconnected.<\/p>\n Also: Patching Treadmill: Why Traditional Application Security Is No Longer Enough<\/strong><\/p>\n In some cases, a bank may designate certain phone numbers as inbound only, meaning they are never used to call customers. Any call spoofing coming from one of these numbers will also automatically end.<\/p>\n It is not that difficult to spoof a number from a trusted business like your bank. Scammers use Internet-based calling systems to spoof your caller ID so that it appears they are calling from a different number. This type of caller ID spoofing can easily make you a victim of financial fraud. According to one, these scams have caused annual losses of more than 850 million euros (about $997 million). Paper issued by Europol last October<\/a>.<\/p>\n To roll out this new feature, Google said it is working with select banks and financial institutions to implement these verified forms of financial calls. Will be rolled out to devices with Android version 11 or higher in the coming weeks, with verification starting gradually. Initially, only Brazil-based banks Reverse<\/a>, itau<\/a>And nubank<\/a> Will be on board. But Google promises that more banks will be supported by the end of the year.<\/p>\n Apart from spoofed call protection, Google also has some other tricks to protect the privacy and security of Android users.<\/p>\n Scammers will try to intercept one-time passwords (OTPs) from your text messages to keep tabs on your personal accounts. To circumvent this, Android will now automatically hide these security codes from most apps for three hours, ensuring that OTPs are protected from unauthorized access.<\/p>\n Launching in 2024, Live Threat Detection analyzes the behavior of apps through on-device AI and then alerts you if an app looks suspicious. With the latest enhancements, this feature will warn you about any suspicious behavior that could be dangerous or even harmful. This protection would also extend to activities like SMS forwarding in which one app forwards a message to another phone number.<\/p>\n Another existing security feature, Advanced Protection warns you about apps that try to change or hide their icons, a possible sign that they may be malicious. With Android 17, Advanced Protection will also remove access to the Accessibility Service for all apps that are not labeled as accessibility tools.<\/p>\n Google’s Find Hub already helps you track a lost or stolen phone, letting you lock it remotely. Currently, your device can be unlocked by anyone who knows its passcode or PIN. With Android 17, you’ll be able to require that the phone be unlocked only through biometric authentication, such as your face or fingerprint scan. The goal is to prevent thieves who discover your passcode from unlocking your phone.<\/p>\n Many apps ask for your location so that they can work effectively. These include navigation apps that need to know your exact whereabouts. A new Location button is coming to Android 17 that lets you share your exact location but only for specific actions when an app is open. For example, you can use it to track nearby restaurants without giving you permanent access to your location every time you open the app.<\/p>\n “The updates we shared today represent a significant leap forward in our journey toward a world of verifiable, transparent trust,” Google said. a new blog post<\/a>. \u201cBy improving protection against banking scams and expanding powerful protections like Live Threat Detection and Android Advanced Protection, we are ensuring Android remains the most secure platform.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nZDNET Highlights<\/h3>\n
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Other new Android security upgrades<\/h2>\n
1. One-Time Password Protection <\/h3>\n
2. Enhancements in live threat detection <\/h3>\n
3. Advanced Security Enhancements<\/h3>\n
4. Protection for lost or stolen phones <\/h3>\n
5. Protecting your location <\/h3>\n