Google has introduced its new Safety Charter in India, aiming to bolster AI-led efforts to detect fraud and combat scams in the country—its largest market outside the U.S. This move comes as digital fraud continues to surge, with Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-related fraud growing 85% year-over-year to ₹11 billion ($127 million), according to government data.
India is also facing an alarming rise in digital arrest scams and predatory loan apps that exploit users through video calls and deceptive practices.
A Comprehensive Strategy Rooted in Local Collaboration
At the heart of Google’s initiative is its new security engineering center (GSec) in India—its fourth globally after Dublin, Munich, and Malaga. Announced at the Google for India summit last year, GSec will partner with local governments, academia, and SMEs to tackle cybersecurity, privacy, and AI challenges.
“We want to use our engineering capabilities here to solve for what’s happening in India, close to where the users are,” said Heather Adkins, Google VP of security engineering, in an interview with TechCrunch.
Google’s Safety Charter focuses on three core areas: combating online scams and improving user safety, strengthening cybersecurity for enterprises and critical infrastructure, and developing responsible AI.
In partnership with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Google is also working to raise public awareness about cybercrime. This effort builds on initiatives like DigiKavach, launched in 2023 to combat malicious financial apps.
AI-Driven Solutions Yield Results
Google’s AI-driven tools are already making an impact:
- Google Messages’ AI-based scam detection blocks over 500 million suspicious messages monthly.
- Google Play Protect in India has prevented nearly 60 million high-risk app installations and stopped 220,000 unique malicious apps from reaching 13 million devices.
- Google Pay has issued 41 million scam-related warnings to users.
Google’s global use of AI to combat online scams—removing millions of fraudulent ads and accounts—is now being expanded in India to meet the scale of the country’s digital ecosystem.
Addressing the Threat of Misused AI and Surveillance Tools
Adkins highlighted growing concerns about AI misuse by bad actors. Malicious uses of tools like Gemini can enhance phishing, deepfakes, and fraud via translated scams. Google is actively testing and developing frameworks such as the Secure AI Framework to mitigate these risks.
Additionally, commercial surveillance vendors selling hacking platforms pose a significant threat, with spyware tools often targeting markets like India.
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While Google champions multi-factor authentication (MFA) and passwordless solutions, Adkins noted that SMS-based MFA remains the most practical option for many Indian users given the country’s vast demographic and economic diversity.
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