GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's easy to call out to Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant and have it look up something for you. But the Better Business Bureau has a warning about using voice searches to look up companies or businesses.
"A customer tried using voice search to contact Roku with a question about setting up their device so instead, someone pretended to be the Roku representative to charge them $80 for an activation fee for a service that doesn't even exist," said Rick Walz, Michigan BBB President & CEO.
Scammers are creating fake customer service numbers that appear in search results by voice.
"If you need a number for a particular company, you may ask Google, Siri, or Alexa to find and dial the number for you but when the company's representative or so-called representative answers you start to notice some red flags," said Walz.
Instead of using the voice search engines go straight to the source. Look up the number manually, or better yet, use the company’s app.
As always, never use a debit card or wire transfer to pay for anything. The same with a Peer to Peer cash app or a pre-paid gift card. It is very difficult if impossible to get your money back should you be scammed.
Credit card payments are easier to dispute if you do get caught in a scam. Often, people ask if a debit card run as a credit card is ok. No, it's not. When you use your debit card, physical money comes out of your account. When you use a credit card, it is simply a charge.