Avoid tax scams with these 5 Google tools

We are now deep into tax season and most people file taxes between now and the April 15th deadline. This also means that we have now entered deep into scam season for fraudsters and cyber criminals.

Over the years, Mashable has covered countless scams During tax season period prey Individuals are simply trying to file their taxes.

This week, Google published a post are sharing their own tools and tips to avoid fraud this tax season. As the company explains, the alloy’s annual Fraud Status Report A 67 percent increase was seen in fraud attempts. Most common? Tax-Related Refund Update Scams.

So, here’s what Google is doing to help.

Scam detection on pixel phones

Google says Pixel users experience 70 percent fewer spam calls because of Call Screen, a feature that detects and filters spammers when calling your Pixel phone.

However, Google has another new layer of security that can actively monitor calls in real time and alert the user when the conversation is heading into scam territory. Scam detection alerts are an opt-in feature in the Pixel’s Phone app. Using AI, Scam Detection tells users when an interaction is starting to look like a scam and will send a notification, a sound alert, and vibration to the device to let the user know.

Detect text scams with Circle Two Search

A common scam during tax season comes in the form of text messages or DMs on messaging apps that claim to come from the IRS or contain important information about your tax refund.

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Google already has scam detection built into Google Messages on Android devices, but Circle to Search now offers another layer of protection.

Simply long press the home button on your Android device and circle the potentially fraudulent message or post. Circle to Search will fact-check the message and let you know if it’s suspicious or not.

On iOS devices, this feature can be used with Lens through the Google app. Simply take a screenshot of the message, open Lens, and then tap the screenshot to let Google make your determination.

Google Safe Browsing

Google’s Chrome web browser also has its own layers of security for users with Google Safe Browsing

Simply go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Security, and select Advanced Security. Google Safe Browsing will scan the websites you visit against a database of known threats and tell users if they are on a phishing website or other nefarious webpage.

gmail alert

When a known scam, spam, or malware is sent to your Gmail inbox, Google immediately flags that email so that users can be aware of that malicious activity.

Gmail displays “high-visibility warning banners” that indicate suspicious emails, links, and senders. Red or yellow banners are hard to ignore and ensure fraudsters can’t take advantage of you, right in your inbox.

advertising transparency

Have you seen an ad that sounds too good to be true?

Click the three-dot icon next to any ad in Google Search and go to the “About this advertiser” section. The advertiser’s name, location, and whether they’ve been verified by Google all appear here.

Google’s ad transparency tools will ensure that scammers don’t weaponize search ads to carry out their schemes.