Google Warns iPhone And Android Users—Do Not Make These Calls

Forbes

5 days ago

The image displays a teenager reading shocking news on his cell phone as he is lying on a couch in ... More the dark.
Forget unpaid toll and undelivered package texts. The attack that's now targeting your data and your money is much harder to detect and is surging, "having more than doubled over the past few months.' Google is on a mission to warn phone and PC users to be more alert — do not make these calls on your iPhone or Android phone.
'Customer support scams, where fraudsters impersonate legitimate support to steal sensitive information, are evolving,' Google has just warned. Gone are the days of clumsy emails and messages, we're now at a new level. Scammers 'often rely on impersonating well-known brands," and are 'now exploiting user distress through social engineering and web vulnerabilities to display fake phone numbers.'
Guardio warns that while such scams are not new, the current surge is 'closely tied to scammers using AI tools to scale their operations, allowing them to create convincing scams at scale.' And it's now all about tricking users into making phone call to as fake Microsoft or Google 1-888 number. If you do, a well-practiced scammer will be eagerly waiting to take your call and your money.
Google says such scams are 'an increasingly prevalent form of cybercrime, aimed at extorting money or gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data.' And while it might start with an 'alarming pop-up warnings mimicking legitimate security alerts,' you might even see 'full-screen takeovers' before a helpful support number pops up.
'Even as people become better at spotting potential scams,' Google says, 'transnational crime groups continue to evolve their tactics and defraud people around the world. In 2024, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance reported that in just 12 months, scammers stole $1 trillion globally. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission recently shared data in March showing a 25% year-over-year increase in reported losses to fraud.'
Do not make these calls.
For transnational read Chinese. The likes of Smishing Triad and Panda Shop as outed by Resecurity are fueling a cybercrime epidemic that has 'no fear of FBI' and 'does not care about U.S. law enforcement agencies.' Operating out of China, the current standoff between Beijing and Washington makes these gangs feel untouchable.
Google wants brands to use its 'dedicated' search feature to formalize support numbers, but as attacks induce a sense of panic and urgency and then push a phone number on users, that doesn't help. Not unless those users know never to call. The recent Android and Chrome anti-scam upgrades will hopefully be more effective.
Google says always 'seek out official support channels directly by using information from packaging or contracts. Avoid unsolicited contacts or pop-ups. Never grant remote access unless certain of official support. Always verify phone numbers for authenticity.'
But just as with those unpaid tolls and undelivered packages — two of the other scams highlighted by Google, this won't be resolved unless and until users know that DMVs will never reach out with threatening texts, delivery services will never text parcel fees, and you must never call a support number on a popup or on-screen message.