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AlertChrome · Scam safety2 min read

Chrome will now warn you about sites that look like scams

Chrome is adding a Suspicious sites warning that flags fake-looking pages even when Google is not sure they are dangerous. It could keep your passwords and card details safe.

By the Dashline deskSource: Digital Trends
Chrome will now warn you about sites that look like scams
Photo: Digital Trends
Act this week
What happenedGoogle is adding a Suspicious sites warning to Chrome that flags questionable pages even when Safe Browsing is not sure they are dangerous.
Who is affectedPeople who use Google Chrome, especially those who turn on Enhanced Protection, and older users or anyone less familiar with phishing tricks.
What to do
  1. 1Open Chrome settings and look for Safe Browsing to check your protection level.
  2. 2Turn on Enhanced Protection if you want the new warning.
  3. 3If you see a Suspicious sites warning, do not enter passwords or card details.
  4. 4Never paste a command into your computer because a website told you to.

Google Chrome is adding a new warning for websites that look like scams, even when Google is not certain they are dangerous. It is called Suspicious sites, and it is part of Chrome's Enhanced Protection mode, an optional setting that adds extra checking while you browse.

What changed

Many Chrome users have seen the full-page red screen that appears when a site is considered dangerous. The new Suspicious sites category sits below that. It covers pages that show deceptive patterns often linked to malicious websites, but where Safe Browsing, Google's site-checking system, has a lower-confidence verdict.

The new alert does not look like the red screen. Google is using different colors, icons, text and formatting so the two are easy to tell apart. Known malicious sites will keep getting the red screen.

Why it matters

Scammers often use AI to build very convincing copies of shopping or support websites. An early warning could stop someone from typing a login, password or payment detail into a fake page. Older users and people less familiar with phishing tricks may gain the most.

Google is also upgrading the system behind Enhanced Protection. Chrome is moving from an earlier on-device Gemini model to a more powerful server-side version. It looks at the brand a page claims to represent, what the page seems to be trying to do, and how likely it is a scam. Safe Browsing then combines that with domain reputation and other security signals before reaching a verdict.

A second warning for ClickFix scams

Chrome is also adding protection against ClickFix scams. These trick people into copying a command and running it on their own computer. If Chrome spots a suspicious copied command, Safe Browsing can analyze it and show another warning if it is judged dangerous.

What to do

The steps in the alert box above cover how to check your protection level. Since the new warning is tied to Enhanced Protection, that is the setting worth looking at, for yourself and for relatives who shop or log in online.

What is not known yet

The material does not say when the warning will reach everyone, or whether it will appear outside Enhanced Protection. A warning is also a hint, not a verdict. A site that shows no warning is not automatically safe, so caution with passwords and payments still applies.

The takeaway

Check that Chrome's Enhanced Protection is on, and never enter passwords or card details on a page flagged as suspicious.

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