Google DeepMind and Singapore Government announce new AI tool to protect citizens against scams

What happened

October 14, 2026 Responsibility & Safety Google DeepMind and Singapore Government announce new AI tool to protect citizens against scams JJ Geewax and Miguel de Andrés Share The collaboration delivers an on-device scam detection model that helps protect citizens without compromising privacy. Learn how Google DeepMind and GovTech Singapore operates with lightweight on-device Gemma models to intercept conversational scams in private chats with zero cloud data egress. Google is an Internet and software company based in Mountain View.

Scams make up over half of Singapore’s reported crimes, and account for more than S$4 billion in losses since 2019. At the same time, scam tactics have shifted from simple phishing (messages that impersonate someone to obtain passwords or money) to complex social engineering, whereby attackers manipulate victims with convincing conversations before requesting money.

Such scams now account for up to 80% of all losses. On-device AI protection without compromising privacy Generic models often struggle with localised deception techniques, making scam detection harder.

To address this, Google DeepMind's lightweight Gemma model was fine-tuned (further training of an existing model for a narrower job) on local scam conversations. This new model also processes conversation data on the device.

Key facts

• Learn how Google DeepMind and GovTech Singapore — uses: lightweight on-device Gemma models to intercept conversational scams in private chats with zero cloud data egress