Avast Launches AI-Powered Scam Guardian to Combat Sophisticated Online Threats

How Avast's free AI-powered Scam Guardian protects you from online con artists

Now built into Avast Free Antivirus and Avast Premium Security, the AI-driven scam protection warns you about suspicious websites, messages, emails, and more. Online scammers will use all kinds of tricks to steal anything -- from your money to your identity. And not all security products are able to fully defend you against their tactics. Now, Avast has beefed up its free security software with a new feature that aims to thwart scams no matter what the source. Known as Scam Guardian, the protection tries to do more than just detect malicious or suspicious URLs. Trained on scam data, Scam Guardian uses AI to analyze the context and language behind a shady web page or text message. The feature also goes behind the scenes to scan the actual website code. The intent is to look above and below the surface for signs of deceptive and dangerous content. Also: Best data removal services: Delete yourself from the internet The scam protection included with Avast Free Antivirus consists of two components. The AI-powered Avast Assistant attempts to guide you when you encounter deceptive websites, SMS messages, emails, links, offers, and other content. Instead of acting solely on its own, the assistant will start a dialogue with you to help you understand the content and offer advice on what to do. You can also manually upload a suspicious image or copy and paste a questionable message or link, and the assistant will analyze it for you and recommend the appropriate action. Further, you can ask specific questions about security to elicit the assistant's feedback. The Avast Assistant is available in both the Windows and Mac versions of Avast Free Antivirus. The Web Guard tool uses telemetry from Gen Threat Labs and AI trained on millions of popular websites to analyze and find scams hidden in content and code. The goal here is to uncover dangerous URLs based on information as well as AI smarts. Web Guard is accessible in Windows and Mac as well as on Android and iOS. Paid subscribers to Avast Premium Security get a third feature via Scam Guardian Pro. Beyond access to Avast Assistant and Web Guard, the paid product includes a tool called Email Guard. This one uses AI to analyze your emails and decipher the actual context and meaning of words in the message. Email Guard scans each email before you open it to distinguish between safe and suspicious ones. Like Web Guard, this tool is available on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Also: 184 million passwords leaked across Facebook, Google, more: What to know about this data breach New and updated versions of Avast Free Antivirus and Avast Premium Security automatically include the Scam Guardian protection. Avast is also promising to add other AI-powered security tools to its security software later this year. The new ones will provide greater defenses against more sophisticated scams that exploit SMS messages and phone calls. "Today's scams aren't crude or obvious -- they're tailored, targeted, and AI-enhanced, making it harder than ever to tell the difference between truth and deception," Leena Elias, chief product officer at Gen, said in a news release. "As scammers take advantage of rising data breaches and leaked personal information, anyone, anywhere, can become a victim of scams. That's why it's never been more important to make powerful AI-powered scam protection available to everyone, everywhere."

AI fights AI as Avast's new tool joins battle against fake sites, messages, and identity theft

Online shopping, investment, and phishing scams are the most reported scam types in recent months Avast has introduced a new scam protection feature, promising real-time defense against the rise of phishing, online fraud, and AI-assisted deception Avast Scam Guardian, integrated into the company's existing free antivirus platform, looks to address what Avast describes as an "increasingly sophisticated threat landscape." Avast Scam Guardian is designed to detect scam attempts across various digital channels, including websites, messages, and emails, using AI to analyze patterns in content and user interaction, flagging suspicious activity in real time. A paid version, Scam Guardian Pro, is expected later this year, promising additional layers of protection, including AI-powered defenses against scam calls and text messages. To use Avast Scam Guardian, users simply need to install or update to the latest version of Avast Free Antivirus, where the tool is now integrated. Once installed, Scam Guardian operates in the background, scanning websites, emails, and messages for known scam patterns and suspicious behavior using AI models trained on real-world threats. The system will alert users in real time if it detects a potential scam. The free version does not require any special setup and is active by default. The timing of this release corresponds with alarming figures from Avast's Q1/2025 Threat Report, which claims breached personal records surged by 186% in the first quarter alone, while phishing scams rose by an even more dramatic 466% compared to the previous quarter. In the UK, nearly one in three adults has been targeted by a scam in 2025 so far, with online shopping scams accounting for the largest share of victims, followed by investment schemes and phishing attacks. The idea of using AI to fight scams isn't new; scammers themselves have been using generative tools to write convincing messages and build fraudulent websites. Avast claims its system is "leveling the playing field" by giving users the ability to counter these threats with their own AI defenses. To evaluate overall protection, consumers may still need to compare products with the best antivirus and ransomware protection software. In addition, since many scams try to steal personal information and financial credentials, identity theft protection services remain crucial in addition to any antivirus program.

Avast Makes AI-Driven Scam Defense Available For Free Worldwide

Driven by a commitment to make cutting-edge scam protection available to everyone, Avast, a leader in digital security and privacy and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), has unveiled Avast Scam Guardian, a new AI-powered offering integrated into its award-winning* Avast Free Antivirus. Cybercriminals continue to abuse AI to craft increasingly convincing scam attacks at an alarming rate. Available at no cost, the new service marks a significant step forward in democratising AI scam protection. A premium version, Avast Scam Guardian Pro, has also been added to Avast Premium Security, giving customers an enhanced layer of AI protection against email scams. "Today's scams aren't crude or obvious - they're tailored, targeted, and AI-enhanced, making it harder than ever to tell the difference between truth and deception," said Leena Elias, Chief Product Officer at Gen. "As scammers take advantage of rising data breaches and leaked personal information, anyone anywhere can become a victim of scams. That's why it's never been more important to make powerful AI-powered scam protection available to everyone, everywhere. We're levelling the playing field with world class scam defense that helps people strengthen their digital and financial safety." According to the recent Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report, breached records of individuals surged by more than 186% between January and March 2025, revealing sensitive information such as passwords, emails, and credit card details. Over the same timeframe, reports of phishing scams rose by 466% compared to the previous quarter, making up almost a third of all scam submissions observed by Gen. As data breaches rise, so do the opportunities for attackers to exploit leaked information to launch targeted, hyper-personalised scam campaigns that are harder than ever to spot. Like a seasoned scam investigator, Avast Scam Guardian uses proprietary AI trained on scam data from Gen Threat Labs to go beyond just detecting malicious URLs - it also analyses context and language to more effectively identify signs of deceptive or harmful intent. Avast Scam Guardian also helps to pull back the curtain on hidden threats in website code and neutralises them to keep people safer as they browse and shop online. Key features available in Avast Scam Guardian for Avast Free Antivirus, include: Avast Scam Guardian Pro includes everything in Avast Scam Guardian, plus: Avast Scam Guardian and Scam Guardian Pro are available to download now as part of Avast Free Antivirus and Avast Premium Security. Later this year, additional AI-powered tools will be added to Avast Scam Guardian Pro for greater protection against sophisticated scams targeting other communication channels, including SMS and phone calls. For more information, please visit www.avast.com. *AV-Comparatives, "Top-Rated Product 2024 Award" & AV-Comparatives, "Real-World Protection 2024 Award" - Jan-Dec 2024. **Content and code scanning is only available on Windows and Mac. **Email Guard is included, but mobile platforms do not have the Scam Guardian user interface. About Avast Avast is a leader in digital security and privacy, and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Avast protects hundreds of millions of users from online threats, for Mobile, PC or Mac, and is top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Learn more at Avast.com.