Android users can filter out unknown SMSes from abroad soon

Android users in Singapore can opt to filter all unknown overseas text messages to a spam folder in a new security measure that will be launched here by the end of 2024.

- Osmond Chia

Once the filter is active, any number from abroad that has not been saved as a contact will be filtered to a spam folder.

The feature will be available in the Protection and Safety settings within the messages app, Google said in a statement on Oct 16. It is an effort by Google, the Singapore Police Force and the Infocomm Media Development Authority to curb SMS scams.

In a separate feature, Android users will, by default, be blocked from disabling Google Play Protect while they are on a phone call. This is to counter a tactic used in recent months where fraudsters guide victims to install malware over the phone.

The security measure adds to the enhanced fraud-protection features of Android's built-in Google Play Protect, which was launched exclusively in Singapore in February as it grappled with a surge in malware scams. More than $34 million was lost to malware scams in 2023.