[Edaily Reporter Han Gwang-beom] #Samsung Electronics announced on the 16th that it is enhancing the security of Galaxy devices to proactively block mobile financial fraud threats such as malicious apps, messages, and voice phishing.
Samsung Electronics has been introducing continuously enhanced security features—including phishing app risk alerts, security policy updates, call screening, malicious message blocking, and alerts for suspected voice phishing calls—to effectively block malicious apps, messages, and voice phishing that threaten users’ daily lives. Galaxy security is now evolving beyond simply protecting users’ personal information to a system that proactively detects security threats to safeguard users.
In particular, starting with “One UI 9.0,” which will be installed on new smartphones in the second half of this year, the “Phishing App Risk Alert” will be significantly enhanced. Beyond simply blocking the installation of phishing apps, it will also prevent already installed apps from running if they are identified as malicious. This will further elevate the level of protection by preventing dangerous apps from running before users realize they’ve been compromised and guiding them to delete such apps.
Samsung Electronics is taking the lead in protecting users by conducting regular “security policy updates” in collaboration with the National Police Agency, the National Forensic Service, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), ensuring that the security environment of Galaxy devices in Korea remains up to date.
The “Phishing App Risk Alert” feature, which goes beyond blocking installation to prevent execution, has been significantly enhanced. Samsung Electronics has collaborated with the National Police Agency to obtain a list of apps designed for fraudulent purposes. The company developed a feature that blocks the installation of phishing apps at the installation stage on Galaxy smartphones and has been applying it to devices running One UI 6.1 or higher since 2024.
In One UI 9.0, set to be released alongside new Galaxy products in the second half of this year, the system will check Galaxy Store reputation data at the time of app installation to determine if an app is suspected of being a phishing app. If the app is confirmed to be malicious, a feature will be implemented to immediately block its execution. Additionally, the company plans to introduce a feature that prompts users to delete apps installed within a few hours of a suspected voice phishing call or those installed via remote control, by displaying a warning notification when the user attempts to launch them.
The "Security Policy Update" feature, which keeps the device’s security environment up to date, has also been enhanced. Users can check for and download the latest policy updates from the "Security Policy Update" menu on their Galaxy devices to maintain the latest security status. Notably, starting with the "Galaxy S26 series," Samsung has improved convenience for Galaxy devices running One UI 8.5 or higher, allowing users to select their preferred network environment—such as mobile data or Wi-Fi—to update security policies in real time.
The enhanced “Malicious Message Blocking” feature, developed in collaboration with government agencies, is also noteworthy. Samsung has been working with the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) to develop and implement this feature on Galaxy smartphones in South Korea. This feature proactively blocks malicious spam messages based on criteria provided by KISA, including △sender numbers △risky links △spam content (keywords).
Since its initial introduction in September 2024, the “Malicious Message Blocking” feature has blocked a cumulative total of approximately 400 million malicious messages as of April this year. In particular, the deep learning-based “Intelligent Blocking” feature, introduced starting with the Galaxy S25 series, is currently available on Galaxy smartphones running One UI 7.0 or higher. The AI learns from approximately 500,000 data points provided monthly by KISA to automatically classify and block suspicious messages related to illegal gambling, loans, stocks, and smishing. Users can view a history of manual and automatic blocks from the past 30 days via the ‘Blocked Messages’ menu in the Messages app.
Introduced starting with the ‘Galaxy S26 series,’ ‘Call Screening’ uses Galaxy AI to answer incoming calls on the user’s behalf and provide a summary of the caller’s information and the call content. Users can review the details at a glance before answering the call and immediately reject it if they suspect it is spam or a scam. The entire process is handled on-device, ensuring that personal information is not transmitted externally.
In 2025, there were 23,360 cases of voice phishing in South Korea, resulting in losses totaling 1.2578 trillion won. Samsung Electronics has enhanced its voice phishing countermeasures to proactively protect users from such unexpected harm. The “Suspected Voice Phishing Call Alert” feature, available on Galaxy smartphones running One UI 8.0 or higher, uses AI to analyze the risk level in real time during a call and guides users through “Suspected” and “Warning” stages. This feature is enabled by default to enhance user protection, and as of April 2026, its adoption rate stands at approximately 84%.
Meanwhile, to address diverse security threats, Samsung Electronics offers a range of privacy protection features, including △Privacy Display △Privacy Protection Notifications △Automatic Security Risk Blocking △Stolen Device Protection △Private Share △Secure Wi-Fi.
