Google has launched its Safety Charter in India, aimed at enhancing AI-led initiatives for fraud detection and combating scams in the country, which is its largest market outside the United States.
Digital fraud in India is on the rise, with fraud related to the government’s instant payment system, UPI, increasing by 85% year-over-year to nearly 11 billion Indian rupees ($127 million) last year, according to government data. The country has also faced numerous digital arrest scams, in which fraudsters impersonate officials to extort money through video calls and predatory loan apps.
Through the Safety Charter, Google seeks to address these pressing issues. The company has also established a security engineering center in India, its fourth globally, joining locations in Dublin, Munich, and Malaga.
Announced at the Google for India summit last year, this security engineering center (GSec) will enable Google to collaborate with local communities, government, academia, and small and medium enterprises to develop solutions for cybersecurity, privacy, safety, and AI challenges, as noted by Google VP of Security Engineering, Heather Adkins, in an interview with TechCrunch.
Additionally, Google has partnered with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to promote awareness of cybercrimes. This initiative builds on the company’s existing projects, including the launch of its online fraud identification program, DigiKavach, in 2023, aimed at mitigating the impact of malicious financial applications and predatory loan services.
With the GSec in India, Google will focus on three key areas, as outlined by Adkins: addressing online scams and fraud, enhancing cybersecurity for enterprises and critical infrastructure, and developing responsible AI.
“These three areas will form a part of our safety charter for India, and in the coming years, we aim to leverage our engineering capabilities here to solve local issues,” said Adkins.
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Globally, Google is using AI to combat online scams and has removed millions of ads and ad accounts. The company plans to implement AI more extensively in India to tackle digital fraud.
Google Messages, preinstalled on many Android devices, employs AI-powered Scam Detection, protecting users from over 500 million suspicious messages monthly. Last year, Google also piloted its Play Protect in India, claiming to have blocked nearly 60 million attempts to install high-risk apps, stopping over 220,000 unique apps on more than 13 million devices. Google Pay, a leading UPI-based app in the country, issued 41 million warnings against potentially fraudulent transactions.
During her interview with TechCrunch, Adkins discussed various topics, including the misuse of AI tools. She noted that Google is closely monitoring AI use by malicious actors.
“We’re tracking AI developments carefully. So far, we’ve seen large language models like Gemini primarily used as productivity enhancements, making phishing scams more effective—especially when the scammer and target speak different languages,” Adkins explained.
Google is conducting extensive testing of its AI models to ensure they do not facilitate harmful actions or generate dangerous content. The company is developing frameworks, including the Secure AI Framework, to prevent misuse of its Gemini models. However, to protect generative AI from future exploitation by hackers, Adkins emphasized the need for a safety framework governing communication between multiple agents.
“The industry is advancing rapidly, akin to the early internet days, where code is released in real time, and safety considerations come afterward,” she stated.
Google aims to collaborate with the research community and developers to establish frameworks that prevent generative AI misuse, rather than solely relying on its own solutions.
Adkins also highlighted concerns over commercial surveillance vendors, which pose significant threats. These companies, including NSO Group infamous for its Pegasus spyware, create platforms for hacking that are easily accessible to malicious actors.
“In India, the challenges are compounded by its size and complexity. The country faces not only AI-driven deepfakes and voice cloning frauds but also digital arrests, which are merely traditional scams adapted for the digital age,” Adkins noted.
On the topic of multi-factor authentication (MFA), Google has long encouraged users to adopt more secure authentication methods beyond passwords. The company previously enabled MFA for all user accounts and promotes hardware-based security keys, which Adkins highlighted by referencing their employees’ practices.
While the concept of passwordless authentication is gaining traction, transitioning users in a diverse market like India remains challenging.
“We’ve known for a long time that passwords are not secure. Multi-factor authentication was a step forward, but in India, users tend to prefer SMS-based authentication,” Adkins added.
SOURCE: TECH CRUNCH
