Google Voice Scams: What Are They And How Do I Avoid Them?

Scams

Watch retired for schemes wherever fraudsters instrumentality group into sharing verification codes truthful they tin summation entree to their telephone numbers

21 Oct 2024  •  , 5 min. read

In our hyper-connected world, exertion has transformed nan measurement we communicate, enabling america to link pinch anyone, anywhere, astatine nan touch of a button. One of nan astir celebrated services to return advantage of nan adjacent ubiquity of high-speed net sum is Google Voice.

But pinch immoderate celebrated integer technology, location are usually risks. In this case, scammers person for years been tricking users into providing entree to accounts, which tin past beryllium utilized successful follow-on fraud. Indeed, Google Voice schemes accounted for nary little than 60 percent of each scams reported to nan Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) successful nan US past year. It’s clip to wise up.

How do Google Voice scams work?

Google Voice is simply a free voice-over-IP (VoIP) work that allows you to group up a virtual telephone number linked to your Google account. With it, you tin grounds voicemails, nonstop matter messages and speech sound and video calls – each free of charge. Even better, it links to your mobile aliases landline number, truthful that erstwhile personification calls nan Google Voice number you tin prime up utilizing your beingness handset. That makes it a useful measurement of keeping your existent telephone number private.

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However, Google Voice numbers are besides successful precocious request from scammers, who usage them to perpetrate integer fraud and different offenses. The classical Google Voice scam goes thing for illustration this:

• Setting up a Google Voice account. The fraudster downloads nan Google sound app and links it to a Google account, overmuch for illustration anyone other does.
• Posing arsenic buyers aliases sellers. They look for a unfortunate online, often posing arsenic a prospective purchaser aliases seller connected a tract for illustration Facebook Marketplace aliases Craigslist. They will dress to beryllium keen connected an point you’re trading aliases beryllium willing successful selling/renting retired to you, but declare that they request to make judge you’re not a scammer aliases a bot. Some fraudsters whitethorn statesman nan scam by replying to online posts astir missing pets, which whitethorn incorporate nan telephone number of an anxious owner.
• Requesting a verification code. The fraudster will show you they’re going to nonstop a Google ‘verification code’ aliases akin to your device, and inquire you to guardant it successful bid to group their fears to rest. As is their wont, nan scammers tin beryllium beautiful persistent.
• Using your number for fraud.  However, nan codification is simply a two-factor authentication (2FA) codification that Google requests to unafraid logins and onboarding for Google Voice users. Once you guardant nan code, nan fraudster is capable to nexus that relationship to your number, and past commencement utilizing it for various types of criminal activity. The codification itself will travel from Google, truthful it is legitimate. What is not right, however, is nan scammer asking you to guardant it to them.

The bigger picture

So what happens next? The scammer will astir apt region your individual number from nan relationship to trim nan chances of you discovering what they’ve done, and nexus it to their own. Then they whitethorn do 1 of respective things:

• Sell your Google Voice number and relationship to different scammers
• Place vishing calls designed to scam victims, utilizing your Google Voice account
• Embed your Google Voice number into email phishing aliases smishing messages
• Use nan Google Voice voicemail characteristic to grounds messages posing arsenic morganatic authorities, successful bid to further their scams
• Use nan Google Voice number and spoofing package to telephone aliases matter your family and friends, asking for emergency funds

The FTC besides warns that sometimes nan fraudster will effort to get personally identifiable accusation from you arsenic good arsenic transportation retired nan Google Voice scam. If they do so, they whitethorn beryllium capable to impersonate you successful bid to unfastened caller accounts successful your name, aliases entree existing ones.

It’s worthy remembering that generative AI and deepfake package could beryllium utilized successful conjunction pinch immoderate of nan supra scams to impersonate others successful a highly realistic way.

How to enactment safe from Google Voice scams

The easiest measurement to debar a Google Voice scam is to instantly cease communicating pinch anyone who requests that you ‘authenticate’ by sharing pinch them a Google authentication code.

Texts and sound messages sent from Google, banks and different morganatic organizations are intelligibly identified arsenic intended solely for your use, and must not beryllium shared pinch immoderate different person. They are designed to support your accounts secure, not to alteration a 3rd statement to entree them.

If you’re buying aliases trading items connected a integer platform, and nan personification connected nan different extremity of nan transaction is still keen to beryllium you’re not a bot aliases a scammer, location whitethorn beryllium different ways to validate your identity. Take a look astatine them – astatine nan very slightest it could telephone nan bluff of a would-be fraudster. And astatine champion it whitethorn thief to advancement nan transaction. If they propose taking nan speech disconnected that level and onto WhatsApp aliases a sound call, that should beryllium a reddish flag.

What to do successful a worst-case scenario

If you recognize you’ve been nan unfortunate of a Google Voice scam, there’s a dedicated page designed to thief you reclaim your Voice number. Any number removed from nan relationship tin beryllium re-added wrong 45 days, according to Google.

Also, taxable a title to nan FTC astatine this address and see filing a study pinch your section rule enforcement aliases IdentityTheft.gov, peculiarly if your individual accusation has been compromised.

There’s a cyclical constituent to a awesome woody of online fraud. It’s existent successful nan lawsuit of societal media users, whose accounts are hijacked and utilized to nonstop retired messages designed to dupe others into falling for scams. And it’s besides nan lawsuit pinch Google Voice scams, wherever threat actors instrumentality users into handing complete relationship access, successful bid to scam others. User consciousness is nan champion measurement to break nan cycle.