How It Works¶
ScamShield Nepal screens every incoming SMS using a fast, two-stage process — most of the work happens on your phone, instantly, with no internet connection required.
Stage 1 — On-device screening¶
When a text message arrives, ScamShield's on-device AI model reads it immediately and scores how likely it is to be a scam.
- This happens offline, in a fraction of a second.
- The message text never leaves your phone for this step.
Based on that score, one of three things happens:
| On-device confidence | What happens |
|---|---|
| High (85% or higher) | ScamShield acts immediately — no further checks needed |
| Medium (55%–84%) | The message is ambiguous, so ScamShield asks the cloud for a second opinion (see Stage 2) |
| Low (below 55%) | Treated as safe — no alert |
Stage 2 — Cloud double-check (ambiguous messages only)¶
For messages in the "medium confidence" range, ScamShield sends a small amount of metadata — never the message text — to the ScamShield cloud service for a second opinion:
- A one-way hash of the sender's number (the real number can't be recovered from this)
- Any links found in the message
- The message length
- Whether the message contains Nepali (Devanagari) script
- The on-device confidence score
The cloud service checks any links against known phishing/malware databases and combines everything into a final verdict, which is sent back to your phone.
See Privacy & Data for the full picture of what is — and isn't — shared.
Link safety checks¶
Any link (URL) found in a message is checked against:
- Google Safe Browsing — flags known malware/phishing sites
- VirusTotal — cross-references dozens of security vendors
Well-known, trusted Nepali services (like the official eSewa, Khalti, and NTC domains) are recognised automatically and skipped.
The three outcomes¶
| Result | What you'll see |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Safe | Nothing — the message behaves normally, no alert |
| 🟡 Suspicious | A notification, and the message is listed in your Scam Inbox for review |
| 🔴 Scam | A high-priority alert, and the message is listed in your Scam Inbox |
Note
ScamShield works alongside your normal messaging app — it doesn't replace it. Flagged messages still arrive in your default SMS app as usual; ScamShield additionally lists them in its own Scam Inbox and alerts you so you know to be careful.