Stay Alert – Customer Service Scams Impersonate Companies

Many people appreciate the opportunity to talk to a real person when they have an issue or concern with a company, and they may search online to find the appropriate customer service number to call. Criminals are well aware of this tendency and are taking advantage of it.

Customer service scams often involve fake webpages and phone numbers to impersonate legitimate companies. Criminals buy online ads to appear high up in a search list, and they answer incoming calls pretending to be friendly customer service agents of a particular company. In reality, their goal is to steal money and sensitive personal data from their targets. Another strategy used by these criminals is to monitor complaints on social media and reply with fake information, pretending to be from the company discussed.

The next time you need a customer service number, log into your account with that company or find the number on your billing statement. If you go online to find the number, be sure to type the web address of the company directly into your browser rather than doing an online search.