Xiaomi Cooperates With The Chinese Government To Create Anti-Fraud Features

Xiaomi has a new feature in its latest software, MIUI 13 (Photo: MIUI 13 Photo Illustration)

JAKARTA - Frauds that often use cellphones cannot be left alone, ranging from stealing personal information to making money from victims. But now, Xiaomi has a solution.

Xiaomi is reported to have had a new feature in its latest software, MIUI 13 which could help solve this scam problem for its users.

The company is not alone, it has partnered with China's online anti-fraud government agency, which has already developed a fully automated domestic network with a database of info on scammers and fraudsters across the country.

Xiaomi explained that the implementation of this feature will be system-wide on MIUI 13 supported devices. This feature will use a blacklist from the national fraud database, and when activated, will appear as a warning to MIUI 13 users.

That is only if the SMS message or phone number used is listed in the database, or appears identical to the message listed in the blacklist.

Cited from Gizmochina, Tuesday, January 4, the way this feature works is very easy, when a user receives a call from a number that is blacklisted in the database, the number will be displayed as a contact with the name "fraud" on the phone screen, so that users can immediately know the difference.

A warning will also appear next to the contact's name, letting those who recently upgraded to MIUI 13 know that one of their contacts may be a scammer.

For SMS, the network will also help identify fraudulent messages, which may include a fake OTP from a bank, or a bank warning to pay for a credit card that a user has, even those who don't have one.

In MIUI 13, two warnings will be given. Firstly, if the SMS service number is a known blacklist number in the database and secondly, the content of the message resembles a fake SMS vocabulary.

As the MIUI software team mentioned, this is the Chinese government's first initiative to implement this feature in the country's smartphones, and as the country's leading tech giant, they also want to take action for the sake of their users.

Currently, the feature is only applicable on MIUI 13 supported devices which is the Xiaomi 12 series, however, Xiaomi is expected to roll out MIUI 13 to more of its devices in the coming months, and this feature is not limited to China either.