Gmail users are now better protected from spam, thanks to AI. This is particularly useful during the Christmas season. During this time, a lot of money changes hands legally for gifts and festive treats, but cybercriminals also try to take advantage of the upcoming holidays.
During the holiday season, there is a noticeable increase in email traffic, which includes a lot of spam and fraudulent messages. Google has ramped up its security measures. Thanks to new AI models, many scam attempts do not even reach potential victims.
Google reports that Gmail users are receiving 35 percent fewer spam and scam emails this Christmas season compared to the previous year. This decrease is attributed to the AI defenses Google has integrated into its mail service over the year. The new large-language-based models can identify 20 percent more spam and scan 1000 times more messages for fraud attempts reported by users as potential threats.
The AI models have been trained with malware and phishing emails, enabling them to identify common patterns and warning signs in emails and successfully filter them out.
According to Google, the most common scams during the holiday season include:
- Invoice Scams: Scammers pretend to send an invoice on behalf of a company, hoping the unsuspecting victim will pay the requested amount.
- Celebrity Scams: Criminals impersonate a famous or influential person claiming they need the victim’s money, often promising a much larger sum in return. Victims never see their reward or their initial payment again.
- Extortion Scams: Victims are threatened and intimidated to extract money. Scammers claim to have personal data or secretly recorded videos that will be released unless the victim pays. Typically, the scammers do not actually possess any real leverage.
To protect against these scams during the holiday season, Google recommends the following measures:
- Take Your Time: Especially during Advent, it’s wise to pause. This is also true for spam emails. Don’t react in panic or haste to unusual messages; instead, think and ask yourself: Could this be true? Scammers often create a sense of urgency in their emails, which is a warning sign. Legitimate companies rarely, if ever, use email for urgent matters.
- Research: There are always clues in spam that can be checked. Is the sender’s email address the real email of the company or person they claim to represent? Does the content make sense? What does a Google search say about the email’s content? Have others received the same message?
- Stop! Don’t Send Anything! No legitimate company demands immediate payments or personal information right away.
- Report: Suspicious emails should be reported to the email provider. Not only can they verify if the email is legitimate, but it also helps protect others from similar emails.
Despite the advancements in AI, common sense remains the best protection. This way, you can navigate the holiday season safely and without worry.