Some voice assistant devices could lead you to scammers, expert says
BOSTON - Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant started off as a convenience. Now the technology is a part of our everyday routines. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is sharing a new warning about using these devices with caution when you are looking up a phone number.
What is the scam?
It starts when you don't want to track down that scrap of paper or business card with a phone number on it. Maybe your phone is out of reach so an online search is inconvenient. Instead, you ask your Google Home or Alexa to find and dial the number for you. The next thing you know, you're talking to a fraudulent customer service representative.
"The Better Business Bureau has received reports across the United States, in regard to a 'specific say scam.' When people are asking, for example, 'Siri, look up United's Airlines customer service phone number.' It connects you automatically. You think you are talking to them," said Paula Fleming, the chief marketing and sales officer for the BBB of Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. "They ask for an upfront fee of $125. You're convinced that you're talking to the legitimate United Airlines. And the next day you realize, 'Wow! It was unfortunately not United.' But yet they directed you to either a fraudulent website or a company that you did not plan on contacting,"
This specific example involves scammers posing as an airline, but Fleming said there are many versions of this scam.
"There are tons of reports in different ways in which you're using this technology that people are being unfortunately scammed," she told WBZ-TV.
How are your smart devices calling the wrong numbers?
Fleming explained that scammers are creating fake customer service numbers, bumping them up to the top of the internet search results, and ultimately increasing the chance it will be selected and dialed.
How can you protect yourself?
"Go directly to that website. If you're trying to contact customer service, if you're trying to update billing for your devices, things of that nature that require payment. Just go directly to them and you can ensure that by going to the website or picking up your recent bill or hard copy mail that has your account number and their direct contact information. If it's a credit card or a bank card, just flip over the card and it has the direct phone number right on there," Fleming said.
To report a scam to the BBB Scam Tracker, click here.