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Google has introduced Verified Calls, a new feature for its phone app that shows Android users the caller’s name, logo, reason for the call, and verified badge to indicate that they have been authenticated by the giant. technological. The feature is said to help protect people from spam and fraudulent calls.
Verified Calls are available on Android devices preloaded with the Google Phone app, this includes Pixel and Android One devices. At launch, the feature is also set to work on various non-Pixel devices running on Android Pie and versions. later, including Samsung and LG flagship devices. The company said it intends to roll out the app on even more Android devices.
The feature works similar to Google’s call screen feature on your Pixel devices, which uses the Google Assistant to take a call, asking who’s calling and why. However, Call Screen is only available in select countries like the US and Canada, while Google says that verified calls will be available more widely.
So how does verified calling work? First, a business must register as one of Google’s partners to verify their calls. When that company wants to call a customer, it will send their number, the customer’s phone number, and the reason for the call to the Google server.
Once this is done, the information will be sent to the recipient’s Google Phone app which compares the information from the incoming call with the information the search giant received from the company.
Only when the two sets of numbers match will the Phone app show the call as “Verified”. The user can then choose to answer or reject the call. Google claims that the customer’s phone number and reason for the call are removed “within minutes” after verification to protect their privacy.
According to a pilot test conducted by Google, it found that this new method of sharing verified business information with users increased the chances that someone would answer a call, although the search giant did not share specific results. The tech giant also compared verified calls to its existing verified SMS system for text messages that helps detect and prevent spam messages. The Mountain View-based company claims its texting system improved customer trust in participating brands and improved their likelihood of being satisfied and buying.
Google says that the verified calling feature will roll out in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and India today, though it plans to add more countries over time. We have contacted Google Malaysia to confirm whether verified calls will be available in Malaysia. We will update this article once we hear from them. For more information, visit Google’s Verified Calling website.
This new feature will undoubtedly prove useful in protecting users from becoming victims of phone scams, such as the case where a 90-year-old woman was cheated out of RM3.83 million by assailants claiming to be from Pos Malaysia. Scam syndicates also often impersonate banks or financial institutions to trick users into providing their personal details and a unique password.
Following Malaysia’s reopening after months of COVID-19 restrictions, the number of scam cases has soared in the first six months of the year, to 14,050 compared to 12,462 last year. The police advise all Malaysians not to simply share their personal data online and to be careful with third-party applications that they download to their phones or websites.
