Google AI shows scammer’s number as customer care, real estate developer ends up losing money

A real estate developer thought he was talking to Royal Caribbean’s customer service after finding a number through Google’s AI Overview. The person on the other end sounded convincing, knew details about shuttle costs in Venice, and even offered to waive fees. Trusting the call, the man shared his credit card information.

The next day, he noticed suspicious charges and realized he had been tricked by a scammer pretending to be the cruise line’s representative, according to The Washington Post.

The reporter who covered the story discovered that the same phone number was also being used to impersonate other cruise companies, including Disney and Carnival’s Princess line. This is not a new scam, but artificial intelligence appears to have given it a boost.

Here’s how it usually works: fraudsters post fake customer service numbers on websites, forums, and review pages. If these numbers are repeated often enough, Google’s system may begin to surface them in search results, and now, in AI Overviews. Chatbots like ChatGPT can also pull in the same information. For scammers, it’s a new way to make an old trick more believable.