Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps • Hacker News Board

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#31

Post by newnewpdro » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:10 PM UTC

nordsieck wrote: post #16

amelius wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In turn, I'm amazed that people put effort into databases that are owned by companies. Wouldn't it be much more fulfilling to do the same work for an open database, such as open street maps?

> In turn, I'm amazed that people put effort into databases that are owned by companies. Wouldn't it be much more fulfilling to do the same work for an open database, such as open street maps? There are tons of open source developers who contribute to code bases that require copyright assignment. They probably do it for the same reasons: * It's personally useful * It's useful to a lot of people * It's (comparatively)…

* They're naive

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#32

Post by dang » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:19 PM UTC

abtom wrote: post #18

The same thing happened to a cousin of mine. I wrote a (somewhat more detailed than this article) blog post about it a month ago. Didn't gain any traction on HN then but here it is: http://blog.abhijittomar.com/2018/10/19/google-business-clai...

Yes, that's a good article and has more detail than either the submitted url (https://www.businessinsider.com/scammers-edit-google-maps-ba...) or the one it points to https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/a-new-bank-scam..., so we've switched to it above. Hopefully it will gain some traction on HN now.

(You won't get the HN karma, but we plan to implement karma sharing for cases where multiple submitters contributed.)

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#33

Post by amenghra » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:21 PM UTC

nordsieck wrote: post #16

amelius wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In turn, I'm amazed that people put effort into databases that are owned by companies. Wouldn't it be much more fulfilling to do the same work for an open database, such as open street maps?

> In turn, I'm amazed that people put effort into databases that are owned by companies. Wouldn't it be much more fulfilling to do the same work for an open database, such as open street maps? There are tons of open source developers who contribute to code bases that require copyright assignment. They probably do it for the same reasons: * It's personally useful * It's useful to a lot of people * It's (comparatively)…

Most companies require a CLA. A CLA is not automatically equivalent to handing over copyright to the contribution.

In some cases, the company is asking for a license to use+distribute the code (which IMHO should be implied by open a PR in the first place).

For example, you can read Square’s CLA here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRVQ35-gq2vdSxD1kd...

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#34

Post by ams6110 » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:26 PM UTC

I basically don't trust the search engine "summary" info that is presented in search results. I always go to the actual website of the business to get contact info, addresses, etc.

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#35

Post by specialp » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:26 PM UTC

If Google is going to have customers remain on their site for search information they have the duty to ensure it is accurate. More and more searches are now given a placard that is either community generated or scraped whether it be maps or the main search. A search that used to feature a link to the bank's "Contact Us" page is now being taken by Google with the link being buried further down between more ads. I get this is to help Google provide voice searches (with the great side effect that Google gets people spending more time on their site), but with that revenue comes a responsibility to do more to ensure it is accurate.

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#36

Post by avip » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:27 PM UTC

wahnfrieden wrote: post #4

lwhi wrote: post #2

A local taxi company near me was relisted on Google maps using a pay-per-minute redirect service. The scammers get paid, and the customer is non the wiser until they get their bill. I was charged about £5 for a 30 second call.

What would be a legitimate use case for redirect services?

Once upon a time redirects were used as pricing mechanism for phone-based "apis". So you could call some weather forecast, or sports analysis, yada yada. I don't know if these still exist, it would not surprise me if redirects are used mainly for fraud nowadays (they are huge in voip call centres breaches).

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#37

Post by MagicPropmaker » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:28 PM UTC

lwhi wrote: post #2

A local taxi company near me was relisted on Google maps using a pay-per-minute redirect service. The scammers get paid, and the customer is non the wiser until they get their bill. I was charged about £5 for a 30 second call.

That is amazing! IIRC in the U.S. there's a few second "grace period" where there's supposed to be an announcement that says "this call is $2 a minute" where you can hang up immediately and not get charged. I presume that's not how it works where you are!

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#38

Post by bpicolo » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:28 PM UTC

Eridrus wrote: post #12

dawnerd wrote: post #6

I do a lot of Google Maps moderation and there’s a ton of bad changes being attempted every day. Honestly I’m amazed Google doesn’t bother to vet anyone really. Becoming a local guide is easy and not that difficult for a spam group to create enough fake accounts to get things pushed through. Just last night I caught the local Target that was reclassified as a “prison”. What Google needs to do is lock information for…

Google already let's people claim their maps listing via Google My Business. I would be shocked if they couldn't lock edits, or at the very least review them. I hope Google uses their Duplex tech to review phone number changes though, should be easy to call the existing phone number a few times.

On the contrary, if someone claims your business, it's extremely difficult to undo. My mother has this issue with her 1 person LLC - some random person claimed it, and the reclaiming flow was busted last I checked

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#39

Post by brod » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:31 PM UTC

Eridrus wrote: post #12

dawnerd wrote: post #6

I do a lot of Google Maps moderation and there’s a ton of bad changes being attempted every day. Honestly I’m amazed Google doesn’t bother to vet anyone really. Becoming a local guide is easy and not that difficult for a spam group to create enough fake accounts to get things pushed through. Just last night I caught the local Target that was reclassified as a “prison”. What Google needs to do is lock information for…

Google already let's people claim their maps listing via Google My Business. I would be shocked if they couldn't lock edits, or at the very least review them. I hope Google uses their Duplex tech to review phone number changes though, should be easy to call the existing phone number a few times.

I recently changed a major shopping centre in my state from "Foo Market - The Shopping Capital" to "Foo Market" and 48h later it was approved. I'm not sure which one google would consider more correct and would assume changing a phone number might go through a few more checks but it was surprising.

Also reminds me about the taxi lost and found issue [1].

[1] https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/76-lost-in-a-cab

Re: Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps

#40

Post by phkahler » Sun, Nov 25, 2018, 7:33 PM UTC

specialp wrote: post #35

If Google is going to have customers remain on their site for search information they have the duty to ensure it is accurate. More and more searches are now given a placard that is either community generated or scraped whether it be maps or the main search. A search that used to feature a link to the bank's "Contact Us" page is now being taken by Google with the link being buried further down between more ads. I get…

Most people want to remain anonymous on the internet or have disposable IDs and profiles. And yet they expect Google to somehow ensure that people are who they say they are. This is a hard problem and it won't be solved as long as people want it both ways.