Security News > 2022 > January > Google Voice Authentication Scam Leaves Victims on the Hook

The FBI is seeing so much activity around malicious Google Voice activity, where victims are associated with fraudulent virtual phone numbers, that it sent out an alert this week.

So they tell you they will send you a Google authentication code in the form of a voice call or a text message, and then ask you to repeat the number back to them to prove you're real.

In reality, they're setting up a Google Voice account in your name, using your phone number, and the "Authentication" code is actually the two-step verification code needed to complete the set-up process.

There are a growing number of scammers are rolling out this Google Voice scam - to the point where the FBI was moved to issue a warning about them this week.

The scammers often use the Google Voice number in fraudulent ads on marketplace websites or for other criminal activity, hiding their true identity and leaving the victim looking like the guilty party.

As of September, the Identity Theft Resource Center reported that the scam is booming: nearly half - 49 percent - of the complaints they received in the prior month were about the Google Voice scam.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/google-voice-authentication-scam/177421/