The advancements in technology have made everything easy for people with smartphones and laptops. However, this has also led to an increase in online scams that occur through these platforms. A recent example of this is when online scammers targeted the customer service helpline number of a popular airline on Google, attempting to deceive passengers. Twitter user Shmuli Evers shared his experience, alleging that a fraudster tried to scam him by posing as a Delta Airlines customer support staff. The tweet has gained more than 2 million views. On July 17, Shmuli Evers shared his experience with an attempted scam by fraudsters while booking a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
In his post, Evers mentioned that his Delta flight got cancelled, leading him to look for an alternative flight. Consequently, he searched for the Delta airline customer helpline number on Google Maps and dialed the contact number provided by Google, hoping to book another flight through Delta Airlines.
Shortly after the call began, it abruptly dropped. However, they later reached out to him and requested his name and confirmation number. After obtaining the details, they managed to find an alternative flight scheduled for later in the evening, departing from Newark Liberty International Airport.
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My @delta flight got canceled from JFK. The customer service line was huge, so I google a Delta JFK phone number. The number was 1888-571-4869 Thinking I reached Delta, I started telling them about getting me on a new flight.
— Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) July 16, 2023
By providing him with my confirmation number and name, he was able to look up my Trip information on delta. He found al alternative flight from Newark, leaving later in the evening. But he needed me to confirm.
— Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) July 16, 2023
The online scammer then texted him the details of the alternative flight and asked him to call back. After calling him, Shimuli Evers was told that his original reservation has been cancelled and now he has to pay for the new booking. However, Evers realised that something was not right and he cut the call. But the fraudster kept calling him back and even dropped a couple of texts.
He then asked me to call him, he said he has to cancel my original reservation, and I have to pay for the new one… this is when I asked him, where he was located, he said Rochester NY, when asking him where that is located, he said 2 hours South of NYC…
— Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) July 16, 2023
He tried to text me after that, and he tried his best for so long to help me get on a flight… He wanted me to pay him 5 times the price of the original ticket cost… If he was really from delta he would have just booked me on that flight. I hate Scammers.
— Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) July 16, 2023
This incident led the New York passenger to backtrack and search for the original number. Later, he discovered that the customer helpline number mentioned on the Delta Airlines website was different from the contact number listed on Google Maps.
“Looks like the scammers changed the @delta number in JFK. I suggested a edit to @googlemaps to the real Delta number,” Shimuli Evers tweeted.
looks like the scammers changed the @delta number in JFK. I suggested a edit to @googlemaps to the real Delta number. pic.twitter.com/HAiGlzkqcu
— Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) July 16, 2023
He then began his research and compiled a list of potential scammers associated with the Google locations of popular airlines. He included various airlines such as Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Air France, Qantas Airways, ITA Airways, and Turkish Airlines.
This recent case has confirmed the potential for a scam to occur if you fail to verify the number before providing your personal bank account details. Authorities strongly advise against sharing personal information through online interfaces. According to CNN’s report, Google has stated that their teams have already started rectifying the inaccuracies on the website. Additionally, they are suspending any malicious accounts that are found and implementing more security measures to prevent such scams.