Google Expands AI Fraud Detection and Security in India

Image Credit: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images

Google has introduced its Safety Charter in India, a significant step aimed at bolstering AI-driven fraud detection and digital security across the country—widely regarded as Google’s largest market outside the U.S.

The Rising Tide of Digital Fraud in India

India has faced a sharp rise in online scams and digital fraud. According to government data, losses tied to the national Unified Payments Interface (UPI) surged by 85% last year, totaling nearly $127 million. In addition to UPI-related schemes, India has wrestled with increasingly sophisticated threats such as digital arrest scams and malicious lending apps, often targeting ordinary citizens via deceptive calls or predatory financial services.

Google's Safety Charter and Security Engineering Center

Responding to the escalating digital threats, Google recently inaugurated its Security Engineering Center (GSec) in India, joining its established centers in Dublin, Munich, and Malaga. The new initiative enables deep collaboration between Google and local stakeholders—including government bodies, academic institutions, and small businesses—focusing on cybersecurity, privacy, online safety, and responsible AI deployment.

Heather Adkins, Google's VP of Security Engineering, highlighted that the Indian GSec will prioritize three goals: addressing online scams and public safety, protecting enterprises and infrastructure, and advancing AI ethics. Adkins explained, "Having an engineering presence here allows Google to solve challenges closer to the users impacted most.”

Harnessing AI to Combat Scams

Google is scaling its AI technology to curb online scams not only globally but with special emphasis on India. Key examples include:

• Google Messages: AI-powered scam detection shields users from over 500 million suspicious texts monthly.
• Google Play Protect: Piloted in India, it has blocked nearly 60 million attempts to install high-risk apps and shut down over 220,000 dangerous apps on 13 million devices.
• Google Pay: One of India’s leading payment apps, it issued 41 million warnings last year about potentially fraudulent transactions.

This multi-pronged approach is also supported by partnerships with local agencies like the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and public awareness campaigns against cybercrimes.

Addressing the Challenges of Emerging Technologies

AI Misuse

Adkins noted the evolving misuses of AI by malicious actors, such as leveraging large language models for more convincing phishing and multilingual scams. Google is actively testing its models to understand misuse risks, and is developing comprehensive frameworks (like the Secure AI Framework) to prevent the abuse of its generative AI systems.

Surveillance Vendors

Commercial surveillance, such as spyware sold by firms like NSO Group, poses another challenge. These tools enable scalable targeting, sometimes at low cost. India, with its size and fast-evolving digital landscape, is a testing ground for such methods—including deepfakes, voice cloning, and digital arrest schemes.

User Authentication: Balancing Security and Practicality

Google continues pushing for stronger authentication beyond passwords, advocating for multi-factor and hardware-based security. However, India’s vast demographic diversity means that SMS-based authentication remains the most practical solution for now, even as new "passwordless" methods gain traction globally.

DeepFounder AI Analysis

Why it matters

For startups and founders, Google’s expansion of AI-powered fraud detection in India signals the growing importance of digital trust as a foundation for product adoption and market growth. This also illustrates the rapid evolution of threat vectors faced by tech companies and consumers in large, fast-digitizing markets.

Risks & opportunities

While increased security creates opportunity for digital commerce, it also raises the stakes for privacy and compliance. Startups offering fintech, lending, or consumer applications must prioritize user safety or face reputational and regulatory risks. On the flip side, advances in AI security and threat detection create opportunities for SaaS providers, security automation startups, and specialized fraud detection tools aimed at Indian SMBs.

Startup idea or application

A founder could launch a platform that provides AI-driven, localized fraud risk scoring as a plug-in for Indian fintech and e-commerce platforms. The tool would integrate with payment flows and messaging apps, using machine learning trained on regional scam patterns. A modular API would allow any startup—banking, lending, or mobility—to adopt advanced fraud prevention without building it from scratch.

AI Security Fraud Detection Fintech India Google

Visit DeepFounder AI to learn how to start your own startup, validate your idea, and build it from scratch.

📚 Read more articles in our DeepFounder AI blog.