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No data to back this up, but at least in my experience victims finding a phone number directly from a Google search is actually pretty uncommon. Although, somet

No data to back this up, but at least in my experience victims finding a phone number directly from a Google search is actually pretty uncommon. Although, sometimes you’ll see fake numbers posted in the comments of news articles or YouTube videos that rank highly for search terms like “fix virus iPhone.” The most common way people get targeted is either via a pop-up while browsing (e.g. “Your iPhone has a virus! Call xxx xxxx now to fix”) or just random cold calls. Scammers also circulate lists of phone numbers/personal information of victims to previous scams, so once you end up as a victim of one you’re much more likely to be a target for new/more sophisticated scams.

herenorthere 7y ago
Probably not the norm, but I have worked alongside a tech company that has 30+ million user accounts, and as such, has a pretty much constant stream of scammers wishing to take advantage of our user base. The customer support dept. has a phone number to call, which is listed on the website. But you'd be amazed how many people are willing to call some random number so long as it shows up in a google result. Normally, it's older folks that fall for this type of scam. The fraud dept. sends a handful of take-down requests to google per week; but it really doesn't do much to stem the incoming flow of support hotline scams. Once a number is taken down, they just create a new website and new fake number. To reply to your comment more directly, I have no idea whether or not this scam type accounts for a significant portion of scams overall, but for my particular industry it sure is. In any account, the way people are scammed on our site changes all the time depending on what's available/easiest for the scammers, so the methods they use are constantly changing/adapting.
TeMPOraL 7y ago
I've read on HN that "bad"[0] numbers pop up on Google Maps, though this was in reference of businesses making fake listings to capture customers that look for a service near where they live. Could scammers be doing that too? I imagine "iPhone repair" being something people type into Google Maps. -- [0] - What would be the right word for both scammers and dishonest but technically legitimate businesses?
treyfitty 7y ago
Last year, I had to call Brother customer support to debug a WiFi issue for my printer. I googled their customer service number and clicked on the first page on the SERP. The page looked legit, and when I called, it was an Indian man who offered support. This wasn’t the first time I called support, and the first time, I was directed to a phone tree. This time, someone picked up directly. Everything else seemed very normal, until he told me he needed to install 2 programs- 1 was something I had no idea what it was, and the other was a screen sharing + remote login service (I’ve never heard of this software before). My suspicions were high, so I probed why he needed me to do all this, and he said “because it’s standard service sir. Please let me provide the same.” I noped out of there. Point being: I really wasn’t sure if I was being scammed, but had I not been exposed to various screen sharing software before, I would’ve easily agreed to share my screen in desperation and installed something I’ve never heard of. Just an anecdotal story of how easy it is to get defrauded off a google search.
dboreham 7y ago
I have a friend who got to a bogus HP support line via a Google search. This was a few years ago.
Scoundreller 7y ago
It’s not surprising. People want to be able to call someone for help. Meanwhile most companies do NOT want you to call them, but want you to figure out how to solve the problem yourself with varying quality of online help. I ran a small directory of phone numbers, like gethuman before it was a thing. Every time I came across a company that made it difficult to find their support number, I’d publish a page. It wasn’t hard for me to rank higher than large telcos or banks in my country. No wonder why people fall for someone offering a convenient number for help. Because the vendors themselves certainly aren’t.

herenorthere 7y ago

Probably not the norm, but I have worked alongside a tech company that has 30+ million user accounts, and as such, has a pretty much constant stream of scammers wishing to take advantage of our user base. The customer support dept. has a phone number to call, which is listed on the website. But you'd be amazed how many people are willing to call some random number so long as it shows up in a google result. Normally, it's older folks that fall for this type of scam. The fraud dept. sends a handful of take-down requests to google per week; but it really doesn't do much to stem the incoming flow of support hotline scams. Once a number is taken down, they just create a new website and new fake number. To reply to your comment more directly, I have no idea whether or not this scam type accounts for a significant portion of scams overall, but for my particular industry it sure is. In any account, the way people are scammed on our site changes all the time depending on what's available/easiest for the scammers, so the methods they use are constantly changing/adapting.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

I've read on HN that "bad"[0] numbers pop up on Google Maps, though this was in reference of businesses making fake listings to capture customers that look for a service near where they live. Could scammers be doing that too? I imagine "iPhone repair" being something people type into Google Maps. -- [0] - What would be the right word for both scammers and dishonest but technically legitimate businesses?

treyfitty 7y ago

Last year, I had to call Brother customer support to debug a WiFi issue for my printer. I googled their customer service number and clicked on the first page on the SERP. The page looked legit, and when I called, it was an Indian man who offered support. This wasn’t the first time I called support, and the first time, I was directed to a phone tree. This time, someone picked up directly. Everything else seemed very normal, until he told me he needed to install 2 programs- 1 was something I had no idea what it was, and the other was a screen sharing + remote login service (I’ve never heard of this software before). My suspicions were high, so I probed why he needed me to do all this, and he said “because it’s standard service sir. Please let me provide the same.” I noped out of there. Point being: I really wasn’t sure if I was being scammed, but had I not been exposed to various screen sharing software before, I would’ve easily agreed to share my screen in desperation and installed something I’ve never heard of. Just an anecdotal story of how easy it is to get defrauded off a google search.

dboreham 7y ago

I have a friend who got to a bogus HP support line via a Google search. This was a few years ago.

Scoundreller 7y ago

It’s not surprising. People want to be able to call someone for help. Meanwhile most companies do NOT want you to call them, but want you to figure out how to solve the problem yourself with varying quality of online help. I ran a small directory of phone numbers, like gethuman before it was a thing. Every time I came across a company that made it difficult to find their support number, I’d publish a page. It wasn’t hard for me to rank higher than large telcos or banks in my country. No wonder why people fall for someone offering a convenient number for help. Because the vendors themselves certainly aren’t.