DeepMind and GovTech Singapore fine-tune an on-device scam detector for phased app rollout
On October 14, 2026, Google DeepMind described a Gemma-based on-device scam-detection model fine-tuned with GovTech Singapore, to be rolled out in apps in phases.
Google DeepMind said on October 14, 2026 that it worked with the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore) to fine-tune a lightweight Gemma model into a privacy-preserving, on-device scam detector. It was trained on local scam conversations, including impersonation of public institutions, banks and local figures. DeepMind cites figures saying scams make up over half of Singapore’s reported crimes, with more than S$4 billion lost since 2019.
DeepMind describes a two-stage pipeline: a lightweight classifier screens inbound messages with minimal power, then the fine-tuned Gemma analyzes a larger slice of the conversation to confirm a threat or discard a false alarm. When it detects manipulative patterns, the device shows a real-time warning advising the user to pause before sharing sensitive information or funds.
DeepMind says the model runs entirely on-device and can access on-device conversations only with user consent under the host application’s terms, so neither the Singapore Government nor Google can access users’ conversations through it. Rollout within applications will be phased; the post gives no launch date, supported devices, accuracy or false-positive rate.
Sources
- On-device AI scam detection (Google DeepMind blog) — Google DeepMind