What is a Google Chat scam?
Google Chat (formerly known as Google Hangouts) is a messaging platform that allows users to discuss, collaborate, and send files on projects, especially for work.
A Google Chat scam is when people get trapped or cheated by someone using the Google Chat platform. Scammers in disguise meet people on other social or dating platforms. latter shift their conversation to Google Chat as it is more secure, and they don’t have to worry about their profiles being reported. After getting close and emotionally attached to their victim, they stole their money or financial details, and that’s how scammers scam people using Google Chat.
Did you know nearly 70,000 Americans filed reports of romance scams in 2022, with 40% (around 28,000) of them taking place on Google Chat and other messaging platforms? This is according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
How does the Google Chat scam work?
Scammers have been finding new ways to scam people since the early days of the Internet. They are always coming up with new, improved, and attractive ways and strategies to scam people. And recently, they’ve been using Google Chat to carry out their scams, and it has been proven to be quite effective as well.
It usually works like this:
- Scammers are all over social media and dating sites. When you meet a scammer, they’ll act like a really friendly guy. Pretend to really care about you and share all of their stories and how their days are going.
- Their main goal is to make you weak over them. Sometimes they even spend months to gain your trust.
- Then they shift their conversation to Google Chat, as it’s a more secure space to talk without any distractions from social media networks.
- Or sometimes they even directly contact you on Google Chat to see if you respond.
- Once they’ve gained your trust, they try out their made-up stories to scam you out of your money, financial or bank information, and even sometimes hack your device to get what they want.
Types Of Some Common Google Chat Scams
There are many types of Google Chat scams that have been recorded in the past few years. Some are more common than others, but all of their intentions are the same: to scam you out of your money.
These are some of the most common scams that we see today on Google Chat.
- Romance Scams on Google Chat
- Phishing Scams on Google Chat
- Fake Job Scams on Google Chat
- Technical Support Scam on Google Chat
- Crypto or Other Investment Scams on Google Chat
- Chat Sextortion Scams on Google Chat
- Fake Giveaway Scams on Google Chat
Lets Talk About How These Scams Work And what Red Flags You Should Look Out For
Romance Scams on Google Chat
The romance scam is the most common scam out there and one of the most effective as well. Nearly 70,000 Americans filed reports of romance scams in 2022; that’s how extensive it is. Romance scams have gone up 91% since COVID-19, with women reporting two-thirds as victims. This is how it works.
You’ll meet someone on social media or a dating site and start to chat regularly. They might be posing as military personnel, doctors, or even famous actors. Eventually, you guys will get really close and start to share everything every day. They might even send gifts and stuff to earn your trust. At some point, they’ll shift this conversation to Google Chat.
When they know you completely trust them, they will ask for money to move house or something important. You’ll probably give it to them since you guys are really close, even though you never met the guy. Once you give them some money, they’ll probably ask you again. When they scam enough money from you and you start to ask questions or meet up, they’ll block you and leave that profile, and you’ll never hear from them again.
TO Avoid This Scam
- Do not trust anyone you don’t know and have never met.
- Try to convince him to go out with you and meet in person.
- Do not share any sensitive or personal information.
- Do not send your money to anyone by just meeting online.
Phishing Scams on Google Chat
Phishing scams are one of the most common scams on Google Chat. It is extremely popular among scammers and some hackers for it’s low barrier to entry and relatively high success rate And currently, it is one of the most common cyberattacks in the US. Let’s talk about how it works.
Phishing Scammers usually pretend to be from a large company or an organization and text you about something you’re interested in. They might even take control of your friends or family members accounts or a business page that you are familiar with and contact you from there. All they want is to extract your private or financial information, which they’ll later use to steal money from your account.
Sometimes they’ll even try to make you click on a link or a picture that has a link attached to it. When you click that link, malware will be downloaded to your device, and your device will be compromised. Then they’ll collect all your details and even take your accounts.
Sometimes Google points out suspicious links, but not always. If you find such a warning on Google Chat, you know it’s a scammer.
TO Avoid This Scam
- Do not click any unknown link or install any unknown or cracked software from any unverified source.
- Phishers might send a picture of some sort of file and attach a phishing link to it. Beware of that.
Fake Job Scams on Google Chat
During the pandemics, a lot of people got laid off, which is why fake job scams have been on the rise since then. Sometimes they just choose you randomly, but most of the time they do a little background research before actually contacting you. They might do research about your job history. The places and positions where you have worked and have experience in that kind of stuff before actually setting up the trap. They might collect this information from your LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social media accounts. They’ll probably contact you on another platform and then migrate the conversation to Google Chat.
This example is a little old, but it’s exactly what you need to look out for.
The job offer and it’s pay will be quite attractive. Just when you have your mind set on working for this company, they’ll ask you for some kind of fee for training or some other made-up cost. You know the rest of the story.
TO Avoid This Scam
- If the offer sounds too good to be true, be suspicious.
- If they try to switch the conversation platform to Google Chat, that’s a red flag.
- Try to find well reputed companies and verify that the person you are talking with is who he claims to be.
- Most importantly, do not give any money. A company never asks any fee of its recruits.
Technical Support Scam on Google Chat
Technical support scams, also known as IT scams, are also one of the most common scams with high success rates. Technical support scams are quite fast and easy for hackers, and victims lose their money and confidential information before they even know it. This is how it works.
A technical support representative will reach out to you and claim that your system is compromised. They’ll offer to fix your security issue for a small fee. They usually contact you through LinkedIn, Google Chat, or other social media. When you replay them and ask them to start working on the issue, they’ll tell you to install a small program or click on a link. And that’s how this scam works.
TO Avoid This Scam
- Do not reply to these kinds of messages or emails. If you really need technical support, contact Google Chat.
- Most importantly, never install an unknown program or click on an unknown link. The Google Chat support team will never tell you to install any program to solve any issue.
Crypto or Other Investment Scams on Google Chat
Crypto, or other investment scams, are one of the most fascinating scams we have seen. Investment scammers will also contact you through other media, then take the conversation to the Telegram app or Google chat.
Investment or crypto scammers will claim that they’re really hard-working and really successful. Investing has made them super rich. They’ll show you their profits and their luxurious lifestyle and convince you that you, too, can make some money with them if you invest. They’ll give you a business plan with a guaranteed high return. Their investment idea and breakdown sound very convincing, but it’s all a scam. If you invest a small amount of money, they might even give you some return just to convince you to invest even more money. When the time comes, they too will disappear with your money.
TO Avoid This Scam
- Do not contact or replay these investment gurus on any media.
- Never ever send money to someone you don’t know or never meet.
Chat Sextortion Scams on Google Chat
Just like other platforms, sextortion scams on Google Chat are also on the rise. It is a type of blackmail that hackers or scammers execute by using Google Chat. Here’s how it works.
A hacker or scammer will contact you through a dating site or social media. Most of the time they will look quite attractive. After chatting for a while, they will tell you to switch to Google Chat. Eventually, they will ask for sexual pictures and personal information, which they will use to blackmail you. They’ll ask for money or more personal stuff, and they’ll threaten to release those private pictures.
TO Avoid This Scam
- Try to use different names or nicknames on dating sites.
- If anyone tries to switch the chat platform to Google Chat, beware of that.
- Use a second Google Chat account to communicate with them.
- Do not share any sexual pictures or personal information with someone you meet online.
Fake Giveaway Scams on Google Chat
Who doesn’t like to win giveaways right, And that’s why it’s easy to make mistakes and fall victim to scams.
In this kind of scam, you will receive messages on Google Chat saying that you have won a prize or service, such as money, a car, Netflix, or Amazon Prime. They will claim that this giveaway is hosted by some famous organization, and they need you to give them a review or complete a survey in order to claim the prize. They might even claim that they are from Google and ask for a review or complete a survey about their product. In the end, they’ll ask for your financial information. We have seen that Google Lotto and Google Pop-up scams are pretty common on this platform.
TO Avoid This Scam
- Do not believe that you have won a contest that you’ve never entered.
- Do not pay any money as a shipping fee to receive any product.
- Do not give your financial information to these surveys.
- If you receive such winning news from people or businesses, you should contact them through a valid source.
Consolation
There are always scammers trying to scam you. especially online, you have to stay aware of fraud and scams. Google Chat has built-in security features, such as automatic phishing detection and end-to-end encryption. Features like these really help make Google Chat a lot more secure.
Stay aware of scammers and keep your important information to yourself. Do not trust a stranger you meet online, and you will be safe.