There’s bad customer service — and even worse bogus customer service where anyone can easily be taken by a scammer with a quirky accent who demands a credit card on the spot when you call a fake hotline.
It’s a tip to remember this summer, especially as we’re looking at a variety of flight delays and cancellations at airports across the country that must deal with outdated air traffic control equipment and staffing shortages.
Airline lost your luggage? Didn’t get delivery yet on that online order for a beach towel? Got a problem with your rental car? Or worried about a transaction on your credit card? Watch out for scammers who know we’re desperate to hear from a friendly voice who offers to solve our CVS-receipt-sized string of problems.
Scammers know too well how to build a trap by planting fake customer service numbers online for well-known major airlines, banks, insurance companies, cable companies, online retailers and more.
Fake Amazon customer support
Amazon News, for example, took to the social media platform X in early March to warn consumers that the e-commerce platform saw a 33% increase in customer service impersonation scams on social media in the few short months from December 2024 through February.
Amazon’s warning gives consumers a good reason to think twice about posting their complaints about a company or product on social media.
According to Amazon, scammers monitor customer complaints in social media comments. Then, the crooks respond to you using fake accounts. The bad actors might end up directing you to dubious links, asking for personal information or money, and moving conversations to private messages.
Thinking somewhat cynically, of course, one might imagine that a big company, like Amazon, would love to quash all those gripes made public.
But consumer watchdogs confirm that it’s a solid tip to avoid posting complaints on social media where everyone, including criminals who would love to “help” you can see them.
By impersonating legitimate customer support operations, the criminals can catch you off guard and trick you into handing over money or personal information that will later be used for fraudulent activities.
Posting complaints can help scammers target you
Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, told me that you don’t really want to circumvent a company’s traditional method for handling complaints by posting problems on social media, given that crooks have new tactics for targeting frustrated consumers.
Every day, she said, the AARP network’s toll-free helpline receives calls about customer service-related scams. The AARP Bulletin highlighted the growing problem involving customer service scams in its May/June issue.
After that story ran, Nofziger said many consumers who didn’t even realize they had been scammed began calling the helpline at 877-908-3360.
Going to online public spaces — such as Reddit, PissedConsumer and X — remains a popular way for consumers to let off steam, and maybe even get the attention from the real company.
Unfortunately, scammers love to strike when people are their most vulnerable, such as when your plane is canceled as you’re trying to get to your granddaughter’s wedding in California.
You’re already in a highly emotional state. And who wouldn’t welcome someone who sees their post and reaches out with a way to find you another flight?
Consumer watchdogs also warn that scammers can create fake message boards that will recommend a bogus phone number or site for customer service.
Clues that you’re dealing with crooks: They’re asking you for money upfront. They’re saying you can get a discount by using American Express gift cards or other gift cards to pay a bill. They’re shifting the storyline to get you worried about money being stolen from your bank account or some sort of money laundering investigation.
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The real trouble starts, Nofziger said, when you think you’re talking with a legitimate customer support employee as you’re really talking with a scammer who might request your credit card number to cover the extra $500 cost of rebooking another ticket.
The day we chatted by phone, Nofziger said she was monitoring the helpline and had already heard of two consumers who had run into customer service-related scams where crooks pretended to be from eBay and Amazon customer support.
In the past, the helpline has heard from people who ran into scammers impersonating customer service for Wells Fargo, Spectrum and Geico.
If you have one problem, you don’t need to generate yet another where you could lose lots of money to crooks when you’re trying to rebook a flight or dispute a purchase on your credit card.
Googling customer service can trigger trouble
I’ve written about a variety of customer service scams, including one where crooks impersonate utilities and others involving payment apps.
The utility scam might start when you move into a new home and need to open an account, such as with DTE Energy, a Detroit-based utility. Some people have been scammed when they searched on Google for a phone number and found a bogus number for a utility that directed them to a scammer. One Michigan consumer reported losing $250 last year to scammers as a fee to open an account with DTE Energy.
Cash App, a popular platform used to transfer money, faced significant issues a few years ago as fraudsters posed as Cash App customer service representatives, who tricked consumers into handing over passwords and personal information. For a few years, according to federal regulators, Cash App didn’t have a live customer support line at that time and crooks filled the gap by providing information online for a bogus hotline.
Some consumers called a fake Cash App customer support phone number, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and were instructed by the fake Cash App customer service representatives to download malware described as a “remote support application” or “remote access tool.”
After the consumer followed the instructions, the criminals would be able to remove or transfer funds out of the consumer’s Cash App account and into their own account.
Cash App has since added more customer service, noting in a blog that the payment app has “multiple ways for customers to contact us directly, including live phone support, email, real-time in-app messaging, and a dispute submission tool within the app.”
Cash App notes online: “Scammers may contact you through email, text, phone calls, or social media, pretending to be Cash App.”
Consumers can reach Cash Support by calling 800-969-1940. “This is the only phone number customers can call for Cash App Support,” according to Cash App.
Nofziger warned that many times a customer support scammer can hide behind an unsolicited text message that suggests there is an unauthorized charge on your credit card or suspicious activity with your bank account. You cannot click on those links or answer such calls, either.
In some cases, scams can morph into situations where you end up allowing con artists to gain remote access to your computer or install malware on your computer. If you’ve not logged out properly from your online bank account, the crook might even gain access to your bank account.
If you’re dealing with a flight delay or cancellation, typically, you’d want to reach out to an airline with care.
Airline customer service scams have hit consumers who Googled for phone numbers as scammers try to cash in on delays or cancellations. Some scammers even try to fabricate flight cancellation notices and trick consumers when they are trying to contact airline customer service agents, according to an alert by the Better Business Bureau last year.
Scammers have been known to create fake airline ticket booking sites or customer service numbers to charge travelers for rescheduling fake flights, according to the BBB.
With Delta Air Lines, for example, you can find contact information on Delta.com and the Fly Delta app. In some cases, an airline might have a bank of phones at an airport dedicated to customer service when there are delays or flight cancellations.
If you would rather call, make sure you have the real Delta number at 800-221-1212.
We’re living in a weird world when it comes to scams. And you cannot ignore the possibility that crooks are out to help themselves to your money at every turn, including hiding behind fake customer service.
Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: [email protected]. Follow her on X @tompor.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scammers are using fake customer service numbers to trap you
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