Google Chrome Will Notify You If You’re on a Scam Website

Google’s Chrome browser is adding several new features to help guide people away from websites known for scamming visitors, including sites that try to trick people into opening their computers to vulnerabilities.

In a Tuesday blog post, Google outlined a series of new features that can kick in as long as Enhanced Protection mode is enabled.

If the browser detects you’re on a suspicious website, Chrome displays a clear, “This site doesn’t seem right” pop-up warning. That warning will show as an overlay over the content, with the option to instead mark the site as safe. But that’s just if the site is suspicious. For websites that Google deems as dangerous, meaning that they’re commonly associated with causing harm, a full red page showing the warning will appear. It will direct the user away from continuing.

The new feature focuses on helping users avoid fake antivirus and browser update scams, even creating a scam likelihood score.

Chrome will also fight against ClickFix scams, in which a website tricks someone into copying and pasting code into their computer, often under the pretense of fixing a fake vulnerability. When Chrome detects that someone is being tricked into copying code on such a site, it will clear the clipboard and display a warning message. This is meant to help stop the practice in real time since, if successful, it could allow a scammer to gain full access to one’s device.

To use these features, users must opt into Chrome’s Enhanced Protection mode via the browser’s privacy and security settings.

The security suite provides real-time defenses—such as blocking “ClickFix” social-engineering attacks—in exchange for sharing additional browsing data with Google. Users should weigh this enhanced protection against the expanded data collection before enabling the feature.

Mike Sorrentino

Senior Editor

Mike Sorrentino is a Senior Editor for Mobile, covering phones, texting apps and smartwatches — obsessing about how we can make the most of them. Mike also keeps an eye out on the movie and toy industry, and outside of work enjoys biking and pizza making.

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