We all have favorite apps and preferred websites which we use on a daily basis. Along with our growing need of apps and services we constantly rely on, lots of new scams pop up that exploit this need. One of the latest abuses was detected to affect the popular Google Maps service. This time hackers attempt to catch us off guard by adding fake business details in the app.
How Could Google Maps Scam Affect You?
Google Maps is a service that enables you to find local businesses, view city maps and get the fastest driving directions. Probably you have used the app to reach a desired destination at least once in your life. Since the app contains a lot of contact information for businesses and other organizations it is one of the most preferred navigational apps.
Unfortunately, according to recent reports, the popularity of this app has attracted scammers and fraudsters as well. They have managed to spoof Google Maps editing feature and eventually presented fake company details to unsuspecting users. Their malicious activities are primarily targeting financial institutions displayed by the app.
More About the Google Maps Scam
Currently, Google Maps enables every user to suggest an edit of the details that appear in the description of a particular place. The idea of this feature is to keep the information relevant and up to date.
However, it could be also easily exploited by malicious intenders. And that’s exactly what was noticed just a few days ago. The same feature had been successfully misused by criminals who attempted to trick users into providing banking credentials, personal details and sensitive data.
This new Google Maps scam allows cybercriminals to spoof contact numbers of financial institutions and replace them with their own. Bank customers who got the number presented by the app then eventually got in touch with them while thinking that it was a representative of their bank.
Since the scam is almost impossible to spot we advise you to be careful and check each contact’s number on the official website of the bank before calling it.
Hopefully, Google will soon update the policy of this edit feature and strengthen the security of their app.
Gergana Ivanova
Highly motivated writer with 5+ years of experience writing for ransomware, malware, adware, PUPs, and other cybersecurity-related issues. As a writer, I strive to create content that is based on thorough technical research. I find joy in the process of creating articles that are easy to understand, informative, and useful. Follow me on Twitter (@IRGergana) for the latest in the field of computer, mobile, and online security.
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