According to Forbes, Google has issued an updated warning about six specific scams targeting Gmail, Google Messages and Google Play users. Google’s vice president of trust and safety Laurie Richardson confirmed that 57% of adults experienced a scam in the past year, with 23% reporting money stolen. The security teams noted scammers are increasingly using AI tools to efficiently scale and enhance their schemes. The warning comes amid a surge in attacks against Google services including recent exploits against Google Calendar users and Chrome browser vulnerabilities. Google has outlined both the threats and existing protections within their platforms to help prevent user harm.
AI Scams Getting Smarter
Here’s the thing that really worries me about this latest warning. Scammers are now exploiting the AI hype train in ways that feel incredibly sophisticated. They’re creating fake AI services, promising free access or exclusive features, and people are falling for it because everyone wants to try the latest AI tools. The fact that they’re using cloaked malvertising – where scanners see harmless content but users get the dangerous version – shows how advanced these operations have become.
And honestly, Google‘s response feels a bit reactive. Sure, they’re removing apps that mimic legitimate AI services from Google Play and Chrome has that “safe browsing enhanced mode.” But how many people get tricked before these protections kick in? The cat-and-mouse game between platform security and scammers seems to be accelerating, and I’m not convinced the good guys are keeping up.
Job Scams On The Rise
Now let’s talk about the job scam problem. This isn’t new, but Google says these campaigns are rising in number and sophistication. We’re talking about detailed imitations of official career pages, fake recruiter profiles, even fraudulent government recruitment postings. When people are desperate for work, they’re more likely to overlook red flags.
Google points to their scam detection in Messages and Gmail’s automatic phishing detection as protection. But here’s my question: how effective are these really? We’ve all seen legitimate emails get marked as spam while obvious scams slip through. Two-factor authentication helps, but it’s not foolproof when social engineering gets this good.
What You Can Actually Do
Basically, the underlying message from Google’s security advisory is that we all need to be more skeptical. Don’t trust that cool AI tool offering free access. Don’t assume that job posting from a “big company” is legitimate just because it looks professional.
The scary part? These scams work because they play on human psychology – our curiosity about AI, our need for employment, our trust in familiar brands. And with AI tools making these schemes more convincing and scalable, the problem is only going to get worse before it gets better. Stay vigilant out there.
