One flyer recently discovered the hard way that the airline phone numbers on Google had changed and shared a timely warning on Twitter for other travelers.

 

Delta, American, and Southwest All Targeted in Scam Attempts

Schmuli Evans was attempting to fly out of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York when his flight was cancelled. As many people do, the traveler took to Google to get the phone number for Delta Air Lines to get his flight changed, instead of waiting in line for a customer service agent.

 

But instead of calling Delta’s actual customer service line at (800) 212-1212, he called a different number listed on the company’s profile. According to his account, the “customer service agent” then called him back from a French phone number, where he collected Evans’ flight information.

 

The scammer then sent him a possible alternate itinerary from a third telephone number, asking Evans to confirm if the alternate flight would work. The “agent” then got back on the phone and attempted to charge him five-times the price listed online.

 

Although there were multiple red flags throughout the call, Evans ultimately figured out it was a scam by asking the person on the other end of the line where they were located. The scammer said they were in Rochester, and claimed it was two hours south of New York City.

 

After some investigation, Evans discovered that Delta wasn’t the only airline targeted by the scammer attack. The phone numbers of several other airlines were changed, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Air France, Qantas, ITA Airways, and Turkish Airlines.

 

In a statement to NBC News, Google said they do not “tolerate this misleading activity,” and were working to correct the issues.

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Source: frugal travel guy