Keeping your Android device safe from text message fraud

Android Security & Privacy Team warns of “SMS Blasters” — cell-site simulators that downgrade phones to unencrypted 2G to inject SMS phishing (smishing) messages that bypass carrier filters. The briefing details observed abuse across multiple countries, the technical root cause (2G protocol weaknesses and null ciphers), the low barrier-to-entry for attackers, real-world impact including large-scale campaigns, and Android mitigations such as disabling 2G, disabling null ciphers, built-in spam protection, Safe Browsing, and Google Play Protect.