Caller Scam Alert! You need to know this before searching for customer care numbers online

When a person faces trouble while accessing their bank account or service, the first thing that comes to mind is to find the customer care helpline. Out of fear and the urge to find a quick resolution, they often end up dialling up the first number that appears in the search results. And this fear and distress often work as a golden opportunity for fraudsters. 

According to Amit Relan, Founder and CEO, mFilterIt, the cases of fraud due to fake customer care numbers have taken a toll in the past few years. 

"The target industries for these scams are the banking and finance sectors followed by the telecom and healthcare industries. These scams are an ideal modern-day phishing technique where the vulnerabilities of a person are targeted. The fraudsters play with the trust by assuring to provide a resolution and in disguise of this deceive people into sharing sensitive information," Relan said.

From Google to Popular Social Media Channels    

Usually, people search for customer care numbers online for banks, online shopping sites, travel agencies etc. This customer support information is enlisted by the companies on their websites which is easily available on search engines. However, scamsters have found a way to hack these algorithms and dupe people looking for customer care support. They create fake websites of legitimate brands and financial institutions to list their fake phone numbers. And the fraudsters also use Google ads to promote their fake website and appear in the top results. This results in taking the user to their fake website and contacting their spam customer care numbers. 

"Over time, fraudsters have moved towards social media platforms to commit these scams. According to a report, around 88% of the fake customer care numbers were disseminated via Facebook advertisements, posts, and profiles. To make these efforts believable and authentic, the scammers also add an introduction, a website link, social media links and posts with fake customer care numbers. However, these links often lead the user to a duped website or social media account," Relan said.

When the users contact these numbers, they are lured to share their financial information or OTP etc. 

mFilterIt has detected and taken down 24,000 posts containing fake customer care numbers across Google, YouTube and other social media platforms in a span of 1 year. All these were Indian numbers - they add further.

The sophistication of phishing scams is rapidly evolving and costing heavily for unwary consumers. These scamsters ploy the act smartly and ensure that the users fall into the trap. To avoid being a victim of these scams, users need to be vigilant. 

Here are some essential things one should keep in mind

• Validate closely the numbers and websites when searching online. 
   
• Refrain from sharing sensitive information with suspicious callers. A genuine bank never asks for any sensitive information like OTP and account details. 
   
• Be aware of phishing links. It can give access to your account details to the fraudsters.