There are generally two types of risks when it comes to making payments through Google Pay - those associated with your device and those associated with the merchant you're paying.
Device security is something that you can control - by keeping your device locked with a strong passcode, for example. Google Pay also uses a virtual account number to represent your account information, so your actual card number is never shared with merchants.
When it comes to merchant risk, unfortunately, you won't be able to tell whether or not a merchant is safe just by looking at them. This is why it's important to only make payments through Google Pay with merchants that you trust. Additionally, you can check user reviews and ratings before making a payment to get a better idea of whether or not a merchant is reputable.
