Don't ask your voice assistant for a customer service number - it might supply you with a scammer's number instead

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Don't ask your voice assistant for a customer service number - it might supply you with a scammer's number instead

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  • Scammers are getting potential victims to call them instead of them calling you with a new scam that uses smart voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
  • The scammers put out fake customer support numbers for smart voice assistants to find when you ask for it, according to the Better Business Bureau.
  • Your guard against phone scams is likely down, as you're the one making the call. And the number was found by your smart assistant, which many might assume is accurate.
  • The Better Business Bureau suggests you find customer support numbers from a company's website rather than using a smart voice assistant, or even an online search.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Smart assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa are pointing people to fake customer support numbers in a new technique used by scammers, according to the Better Business Bureau.

According to the BBB, a victim reportedly used a voice search with a smart assistant to find the customer service number for an airline to change seats on an upcoming flight. The victim called the number, and a fake representative tried to scam them into spending $400 for a gift card for a fake special promotion.

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Another victim reportedly asked Siri for the customer service number of a company to get support for their printer, and the number led them to a tech support scam.

The scam is especially dangerous, as it brings you directly to the scammers, and you might have your guard down since you're the one making the call.

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Business Insider reached out to Google, Apple, and Amazon asking whether the information provided by smart voice assistants is verified, but we didn't immediately hear back.

Read more: The 11 most sophisticated online scams right now that the average person falls for

The BBB warns that scammers might insist that you pay for something via a wire transfer or a debit card, demand remote access to your computer, or point you to unfamiliar websites.

To avoid these customer service scams, the BBB suggests you look for a support number yourself on a company's website - even an online search on a search engine like Google might point you to a scam number. And if you do make any payments, your best bet is to use your credit card, as you can dispute a transaction more easily than one made from a debit card.

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