iOS 27 Adds Opt-In Impersonation Risk Detection to Flag Scams

The tool is aimed at scams in which an attacker poses as a bank, government agency or trusted person to pressure or guide the user into making a payment or changing account details. Apple says traditional measures such as two-factor authentication cannot always detect this kind of fraud because the user is the one taking the action, even after being tricked or pressured, 9to5Mac reported.

Impersonation Risk Detection analyzes information about the user's device and Apple Account to look for signs of an active scam. It then returns a risk level to the app. According to the report, the app receives only the risk level, not the underlying information used to generate it, and the app decides what to do next. Possible responses include asking the user to verify identity, adding a delay or showing a warning.

Users can enable the feature in iOS 27 by opening Settings, going to Privacy & Security, selecting Impersonation Risk Detection and turning on Share with App Developers. It works only in supported apps, and Apple has not published a list of those apps, according to 9to5Mac.

The risk levels are Unknown, Medium and High. Unknown means no evidence of suspicious activity was detected; Medium means some signs of suspicious activity were found; High means significant signs were detected. Once an app receives the risk level, it chooses whether to prompt for additional authentication or display a scam warning.

The feature adds a layer beyond existing call and message screening tools, which can screen calls and messages but cannot prevent a scam if the user decides to act on a message. Because Impersonation Risk Detection is opt-in, its protection will not apply until users turn it on, and only in apps that support it.