What you need to know
- Some user reports are gaining attention after a few run into scams following phone numbers returned by Google’s AI Overviews.
- Users searching for customer support numbers have been caught in scam attempts, nearly falling prey to losing their money and more.
- Another report claims Google is “aware” of the issue, but users should still exercise extreme caution moving forward.
Google’s AI Overviews are in the hot seat after users report being roped into scams, courtesy of the phone numbers it has provided.
A report by Digital Trends highlights this recent string of reports from users, all claiming to have been led astray by phone numbers returned by Google’s AI Overviews (via Android Authority). The publication noticed a user on Reddit who reported about a friend who’d gotten roped into a scam over a missing Swiggy Instamart order overseas. Their friend searched for “Swiggy customer care number” and received a phone number; however, it quickly turned into a scam.
Strangely, the person on the other end (who pretended to be customer support) started asking the user to “share their screen” and accept a “UPI request” (money request). After the call was ended, it became evident that things weren’t right. More than that, the user found out that Swiggy Instamart doesn’t have a phone number, only chat-based support.
⚠️ SCAM ALERT – Fake Customer Support Numbers! from r/Bengaluru
Similarly, Digital Trends chased down another report from Alex Rivlin on Facebook. Rivlin was searching for “royal caribbean customer service phone number 24 hours usa.” In an eight-minute video, and as explained in the brief post, Rivlin was looking for information to book a shuttle for a cruise he was preparing for. The number Rivlin received from Google’s AI Overviews soon turned out to be false, as it led right to a scammer.
In his post, Rivlin states, “The scammers mimicked everything perfectly: pricing, terminology, and even the shuttle details. They tricked me into sharing my credit card info, and I spotted the fraud just in time.” Rivlin adds, “With AI-generated results and spoofed numbers, the game has changed.”
This has left a very bitter taste in users’ mouths, with some in the Facebook post’s comments wondering how the scam number got to the “top of Google Search ahead of Royal Caribbean.” The Android Authority post highlights a mention from a Google spokesperson in the Washington Post about this issue. The statement reports that Google is “aware” of the issue and is working to “improve results.” Moreover, the company has reportedly “taken action” against a few numbers it has identified.
Android Central has reached out to Google about these scam numbers in AI Overviews. We will update this article when we hear back.
AI gets it wrong
All of this AI intelligence rolling out, especially in Search, is supposed to make things easier for users looking up topics and information. However, as we’ve seen before, AI can get things wrong. We can make a callback to 2024 when Google’s Head of Search, Liz Reid, had to make a statement about the erroneous AI Overviews results that took “nonsensical” and “satirical” a little too seriously. Of course, as Reid stated, the issues stemmed from an “information gap,” in which there isn’t enough information about a subject, so the AI ends up grasping at straws and makes things up.
The AI also ended up pulling more “user-generated” content, rather than content from reputable places with solid foundations in information.
What we’re seeing now with the scam numbers isn’t quite an “information gap,” but it still shows how Google’s AI is simply pulling information, as it’s not verifying this on its own. As always, with any new AI feature that comes out, users should double-check what the bot has returned. AI Overviews and more typically feature backlinks, which users should take into account when looking up crucial info.
But there’s another reason why this is an issue. It’s all that shitposting people have done over the years.
