Voice Cloning Becomes Increasingly Dangerous: Android Launches Fake Call Detection Feature

Phone number spoofing has become a cybercrime that requires heightened vigilance. This technique is used by scammers to falsify telephone numbers so they appear to originate from a victim’s known contacts, such as family, friends, or even official institutions. Typically, fraudsters use internet-based software to reroute calls so that the number displayed on the victim’s screen looks familiar, making it easier for victims to trust and answer the call.

In addition to spoofing, scammers are now utilising AI voice cloning or audio deepfake technology. With this technology, perpetrators can mimic someone’s voice with extreme accuracy, including their intonation, pitch, and speaking style. The combination of number spoofing and voice deepfakes makes telephone fraud increasingly difficult to detect, as calls can appear to come from a saved contact while the voice heard is indistinguishable from a known person.

In response to this threat, Google has introduced a new security feature on Android called fake call detection, designed to protect users from cyber fraud, including spoofing and deepfakes. This feature uses inter-device verification based on Rich Communication Services (RCS) and operates within the Phone by Google application.

“When connected via Phone by Google, devices will perform real-time verification to ensure the call truly originates from a legitimate contact device,” stated Google, as reported by Engadget. If the call originates from a scammer, the verification signal will not appear. The system then checks directly with the original device; if the original device indicates it is not making a call, the user will receive an on-screen warning to terminate the call immediately. Google added that this feature is active by default, runs in the background, uses end-to-end encryption, and maintains user privacy.