Online and phone scams, some of them powered by generative AI tools, surged in 2024 and continue to rise. Now, Google is deploying some of its latest AI models to help protect users from these threats. One such model is Gemini Nano, a lightweight AI that can run directly on a user’s device.

Now, when a Chrome user enables Enhanced Protection mode in Safe Browsing—the browser’s highest security setting—the Nano model runs locally to scan web content for signs of fraud. It can recognize common scam tactics, such as bad actors posing as remote technical support staff, a tactic Google says is becoming increasingly common. The model is also capable of detecting novel scams it hasn’t encountered before.

Google says it plans to use the on-device AI scam protection in the browser on mobile Android devices in the future, and to expand the detection to more types of scams. Google already uses on-device AI to detect scams in other mobile apps. The company recently began warning Android users of possible scams within text messages and phone calls. Link