The security gesture I’m teaching my parents to use on their Androids

As the designated nerd in my home, I’ve given my parents a lot of tech advice.

Unfortunately, pretty much all of it has aged badly. The advice wasn’t bad, it was just unrealistic for them to follow through.

Even the basics, like “don’t click unknown links” or “turn on two-factor authentication,” sounded great when I said them out loud. I would even take the time to explain concepts like phishing.

Still, when a stray message arrives in the middle of the day, it’s very likely that they’ll just tap the open button instead of giving it another glance.

Spam and scam texts come when you least expect them. That’s also the gap that scammers live in. When you’re paying the least attention.

So, I’ve started teaching not just my parents, but anyone who isn’t the most technically inclined, a simple security tip.

You don’t need to learn about phishing or the other kinds of scams. You don’t even need to remember much at all. When you see a finance or money-related message, circle it. That’s all.

Circle to search has been around for a bit now, but what makes it truly useful for families is the AI-based scam detection tied into it.

If you get a suspicious payment request, an off-sounding message, or one of those urgent action required style texts, you can trigger Circle to Search.

Just circle over the copy of the text, and Google’s AI overview tries to tell you what you’re looking at and whether it’s a scam.

It’s the kind of feature I’ve been waiting for because it doesn’t try to give you too much information about the why.

Instead, it just tells you whether something is safe and helps you make a better decision in the moment.

Scams barely look like scams anymore

The real problem is that verification takes effort, and scammers know it

There’s no denying that modern scammers have gotten pretty good at hiding their trails.

It sounds obvious, but it’s important to make that distinction as it explains why so many people still get caught.

We’re not talking about classic Nigerian price scams. Instead, modern spam is designed to look precisely like a legitimate message, going all the way down to copy language that you’d expect from a food delivery app sending across a payment link.

A request that’s so common and prevalent that you don’t think twice before clicking the link. That’s how they get you.

That’s also why this is such a nightmare scenario for parents and older family members. The more the scam blends into normal life, the more likely it is to work.

You might ask them to double-check if the link is accurate, or use a URL expansion service, but let’s be real. They’re not going to do it. Even I might not if I was otherwise occupied.

Circle to Search cuts through that by letting you check the message without leaving the screen. That’s the clincher.

It keeps you within the same app and context and lets you circle the specific line that’s ambiguous.

After you do that, Google’s AI kicks in and surfaces an AI overview that tries to explain what you’re seeing in plain English.

It can point out common scam patterns, inconsistencies and even inform you if the message follows known scam formats floating around the internet.

Even if it isn’t entirely sure, it makes you double-check and that alone can go a long way in helping stop or identify scams.

Circle every payment request as a rule

You don’t need to understand the tech, you need to build a habit

The way I explain Circle to Search to my parents is intentionally simple because they don’t need to know nor do they care about what’s happening behind the scenes. And they certainly aren’t interested in machine learning models.

I’ve simply asked them to circle any and every payment request they get. Even if it’s a verified, genuine request. You can never be too sure.

I want them to treat Circle to Search as a basic hygiene feature for any kind of payment-related message.

So when a message pops up claiming a failed delivery, and a request for payment for cash on delivery, they first trigger the Circle to Search action.

This AI overview pops up then analyses the text on-screen and verifies if the message is legitimate or a scam.

Usually it’ll get it right, sometimes it won’t be too sure. But if it’s now, they now prefer not to tap rather than tap the link in haste.

Over time, I’ve turned this into a rule that’s easy to follow and even easier to repeat. The funny thing is that this has also changed the way they ask me for help.

Before, I’d get a panicked call after they had already tapped something. Now, they’ll drop me a text saying that the AI says that the text might be fake. That’s a much safer position to be in.

The best security feature is the one you’ll remember to use

There are dozens of ways to make your phone more secure, but the most important ones are the ones you actually use.

That’s what Circle to Search’s scam detection gets right. It’s so simple and straightforward that there’s no reason for you to not use it.

And that simplicity is what makes it one of the best anti-scam measures on your phone right now.