Android fake call detection is Google's latest attempt to stop scammers before they reach you. It is rolling out globally in the Phone by Google app on devices running Android 12 and above, starting with Pixel phones.

Android fake call detection relies on the Phone by Google app on both the caller's and the receiver's devices. When a trusted contact calls, their phone silently sends a confirmation signal to the recipient's handset, creating what Google describes as a "digital handshake" between the two devices. If that confirmation is missing, the call can be flagged as potentially fake even before you answer.

The system is built on Rich Communication Services (RCS), allowing the confirmation to travel over an end-to-end encrypted channel. Google says fake call detection is enabled by default in the Phone by Google app, though users can turn it off from settings if they wish.

Android fake call detection is designed for a world where criminals use AI voice cloning and deepfakes to impersonate family members, banks or officials. If a scammer spoofs a contact's number without actually using that person's device, the initial confirmation signal will not arrive, and the app can treat the call as suspicious.

In such cases, the recipient's phone can ping the genuine contact's registered device over RCS. If that real device responds that it is "not making a call right now", the Phone by Google app displays a warning and advises the user to hang up immediately.

Google points to Interpol's Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment, which ranks impersonation fraud among the leading threats contributing to hundreds of billions of dollars in global losses. The US Federal Trade Commission has also reported sharp increases in losses from impersonation scams, particularly targeting older adults with bogus calls from banks, companies or government agencies.