Online protection company McAfee has announced the launch of AI-powered, McAfee Scam Protection. The latest feature in McAfee’s product suite draws on patented artificial intelligence (AI) technology to turn the tables on cybercriminals using AI to turbocharge scams and deceive people out of thousands of pounds.
With the help of AI, cybercriminals are creating more convincing, personalised scams, at scale. Phishing scams are the number one cybersecurity threat worldwide, with a new phishing site created every 11 seconds. Last year, over £1.2 billion was lost to fraud in the UK, with nearly 80% of fraud cases starting online. Now, a deluge of new sophisticated AI-generated scams is making it even harder to tell real from fake.
McAfee Scam Protection proactively spots and blocks scams. No more wondering if a delivery message or bank notification text is real or not, as McAfee’s patented AI technology instantaneously detects malicious links to stop consumers from clicking by sending an alert message. Even if a person accidentally clicks on a malicious link, McAfee Scam Protection proactively blocks the site from loading.
“AI has changed the game for cybercriminals. Gone are the days of obvious typos, poor graphics, or other telltale signs in phishing emails or scam texts. Today, cybercriminals are using artificial intelligence to dramatically improve the accuracy, sophistication, and speed of an attack, making it harder than ever to tell real from fake. It’s why we all need the most advanced, innovative AI working in our favour, to proactively protect us, in real-time, before we even know we’ve been targeted,” said Greg Johnson, McAfee Chief Executive Officer.
“McAfee Scam Protection combines advanced AI with the very best in human threat intelligence to spot and block fake emails, texts, and social media links proactively, so you can go about your day worry-free. Our new scam protection technology is revolutionary, and we are excited to equip families and individuals with the most advanced AI technology that helps keep online scams and cyber threats at bay, so people can live their lives online with confidence,” said Johnson.
Important Details for McAfee Scam Protection:
- Proactive and automatic protection: A notification will be sent about a scam text before the message is opened. Once permission is granted to scan the URLs within texts, McAfee Scam Protection takes charge and will let users know which texts aren’t safe and shouldn’t be opened.
- Patented and powerful AI: McAfee’s AI runs in real-time and is constantly analysing and processing millions of malicious links from around the world to provide better detection. This means McAfee Scam Protection can protect consumers from advanced threats including new zero-day threats that haven’t been seen before. McAfee’s AI continually gets smarter to stay ahead of cybercriminals for even better protection.
- Simple and easy to use: once set up, McAfee Scam Protection goes to work immediately. No copying or pasting or checking whether a text or email is a scam. McAfee does the work and Scam Protection will alert users if it detects a dangerous link and blocks risky sites in real time if accidentally clicked.
- Free to try; free for existing customers: For new customers, McAfee Scam Protection is available as part of a free seven-day trial of McAfee Mobile Security. After the trial period, McAfee Mobile Security is £2.29 a month or £25.99 annually for a one-year subscription. Most McAfee customers now have McAfee Scam Protection available as part of existing plans; users can simply update the McAfee Security app with no need to purchase separately or download a separate app. Some exclusions apply.
McAfee Scam Protection’s AI technology detects and protects against dangerous links, works across Android, iOS, Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge and Firefox. Text alert functionality is currently only available for all Android users with enhancements coming to iOS in October. Today, customers across any platform can benefit from McAfee’s risky link identification which blocks a dangerous link should you accidentally click on it, whether that’s through text messages, social media, or your browser.
