Android I/O: Surfshark’s Alternative ID will make Android 17’s ‘Spoofing Protection’ feature even better at stopping scam calls

One of the most useful features launching at Android I/O 2026 is Android 17’s “spoof protection” system. It’s designed to recognize and stop calls from scammers before they can extract your banking details. But how about combining that with a system that stops bad guys from getting your real phone number in the first place?

Surfshark VPN includes a tool called Alternative ID. This is a feature that generates an entirely fake identity for you – a name, billing address, email, and phone number that even routes your messages and calls to your real inbox and cell phone.

Instead of handing over your real credentials when you sign up for websites and services, you simply hand them over with your fake credentials. Then, when you notice that you’re getting a little too much spam and too many nuisance calls, you delete that alternate ID persona and generate another one.

This way you protect your real information and minimize your chances of receiving scam calls in the first place. And if some are still successful, we hope that Android 17 and spoofing protection can catch up with the rest.

Alternate ID is available with all three of Surfshark’s pricing tiers. This means you only need Surfshark Starter to get it, which is great because it’s currently discounted to less than $2 per month. It still includes full VPN functionality.

The only problem for some is that the Alternative Phone Number tool is only available in the United States at the moment. The rest of the identifier, including the email alias, can be used by anyone, anywhere.

We consider Surfshark the best cheap VPN and the second best VPN overall. It will also do the job for any general browsing protection, location spoofing and Netflix streaming.

Take a look at what’s new in Android 17 or also read more about Alternative ID.