One terrible version here in NL were free to call phone numbers starting with 0800 usually followed by 4 digits. Google allowed to spoof those and point them at

One terrible version here in NL were free to call phone numbers starting with 0800 usually followed by 4 digits. Google allowed to spoof those and point them at 1 euro per minute phone numbers. They just redirected to the free number. Lots of people I know got weird phone bills for numbers they've never seen before. For some of these, during rush hour, 20-30 min waiting time is normal. A 2022 law now forbids people with paid numbers to redirect to 0800 free to call numbers. I'm really curious how much money this google scam made. If I know 5 people who spend 20-40 euro on it there must be many thousands of victims. The ads spoofed things like the tax office. First thing in the morning that number alone gets thousands of calls. One just types "tax office phone" (in dutch) in the search box and the ad says 0800-0543 You click on it and get the tax office. You might have to wait a bit because they are very patient and try to answer all your questions to the best of their ability, put you on hold to ask around etc Some people must repeatedly call the number for more than a hour in the same month. They wont notice anything until the bill comes in.