How Google Maps is used for banking scams

Scamsters have now found Google search as a new technique to find victims. Amusingly, this is not a hack from Google’s end but it’s a simple misuse of a service that Google made to help internet users.

The citizens got the alert about the scam from the Maharashtra cyber police first. The organizations like Bank of India and Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) were the most worried.

Here are the things you need to know about it:

• EPFO Provident Fund scam: People called a wrong number and got scammed

- A scamster changed the contact details of an EPFO office in Mumbai on Google search. When people tried to reach that mobile number, the scamster inquired about the personal details from the callers and duped many of them. Senior citizens were the main victims of this scam. In this scam, people simply calls on the number available on Google, assuming it to be of a government official contact number.

• How fraudsters are able to change the number on Google/Google Maps

- Google enables users to edit the contact details of shops/banks and other organisations on Google Maps and Google search to help better these services.

• Scamsters change the actual contact details with their mobile number and trap people.
• People trust Google, that it shows the correct contact details. They end up calling the scamster.
• The scamster pretend to be a bank employee asks for personal details from the caller to verify the call.
• To get services on mobile, innocent users share their card details, ATM PIN, and other details
• Sometimes, these numbers are even directed to fake IVRs
• This scam is not just limited to banks, recently an EPFO office in Mumbai had a wrong phone number displayed on Google
• Google has acknowledged the issue but the choice to edit phone numbers still exist.
• To avoid such scams please don’t rely on Google to search for contact details.
• Visit official websites for phone numbers/contact details