Google’s List of Airline Phone Numbers Is Hotbed for Fraudsters

(Photo: Nathana Rebouças on Unsplash)

Scammers have lately altered the Google search results for numerous major airlines, sending certain customers to a number where the individual who answers would attempt to take their money.

Incorrect Contact Numbers on Google

Shmuli Evers, a software designer from Brooklyn, spotted the scam this weekend when his Delta trip from John F. Kennedy International Airport was rescheduled, according to NBC News. Rather than wait in the lengthy queue for customer service, he looked up the airline's phone number on Google to rearrange his ticket.

He posted his experience on Twitter, and similar stories from other people came to light.

Evers said he talked to a guy with a heavy accent, who then hung up and phoned him again from a different number. A fee was then requested so that the man may rearrange his flight. Evers suspected an elaborate scam and decided to cancel the transaction.

Following that, he found six other airlines, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Air France, whose contact information was incorrect on Google's servers.

My @delta flight got canceled from JFK. The customer service line was huge, so I google a Delta JFK phone number. The number was 1888-571-4869 Thinking I reached Delta, I started telling them about getting me on a new flight.
— Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) July 16, 2023

All airline search results, including Delta's, have been updated recently. There is no indication of who altered the numbers or how.

A Delta representative has said that the airline is conducting an investigation. "Whenever we become aware of an alleged scam targeting our customers, including in this situation, we immediately conduct an investigation."

The spokesperson added that passengers should check the airline's website before phoning to be sure they have the appropriate number.

Phone Number Scam

At a time when travelers around the US have been experiencing major delays and cancellations at airports due to bad weather and personnel shortages, a new phone number fraud has emerged.

Scams and other forms of online crime have grown more prevalent. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, victims reported a record $10.3 billion in online losses in 2022.

In an email statement, a Google representative stated the firm "does not tolerate this misleading activity."

The company has begun reverting the inaccuracies, has suspended the fraudulent accounts implicated, and has applied extra safeguards to avoid future exploitation, the spokesperson added.

The representative was unresponsive when asked how long the issue had continued, how many airlines had been effectively impersonated, or why greater safeguards were not in place for significant firms like airlines.

Google has had a hard time combating fraudsters who have figured out how to have false contact information appear when people do a search for a firm on Google Search or Google Maps.

These listings are sourced from Google's own database for businesses, known as Business Profiles. Google often uses a letter, phone call, or video chat to verify a business owner's identity.

Google filed a lawsuit against an individual and his companies last month, accusing them of providing "verification for pay" services that fraudsters used to seize control of search results for businesses.