Fraudsters Are Scamming Siri and Alexa

Siri and Alexa: They’re great voice-activated assistants, but a new scam is using them to create fake customer-service numbers for airlines, computer tech support lines and other services, according to the Better Business Bureau.

These fraudsters are hiding behind convenient auto-dial features to lure unsuspecting users into a trap because they realized that people will search for a businesses and then usually call the first number on a search list without even checking the business’ website, and this is especially true for voice activated assistants like Siri and Alexa. Scammers know this and have created fake ads and customer service numbers. They’re paying online search engines to promote their ‘business’ which bumps them to the top of the search list.

The BBB’s Stephanie Garland has a bit of advice before asking Alexa to make a call.

“Be very careful searching for support phone numbers. Be very wary of fake ads. I do not suggest using either of these ‘smart’ devices right now to call these companies. And also, only make payments with your credit card.”

Garland says credit cards will allow you to get reimbursement if you lose your money. That’s not the case with money orders, debit cards and most other forms of payment.