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Google is using a phone number provided for “security” purposes to telemarket

5 points by poppup ↗ HN
I just received a call from a "google specialist," also known as a telerobot, marketing google's advertising services to me on a number I provided as a way to retrieve my password. Don't they have a moral obligation to separate these two activities or is their security procedure just a thinly disguised way to gather information for marketing purposes?

4 comments

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dangrossman
It's not Google that called you. They don't do robocalls, not for any program in any department. The callers are independent SEO/SEM companies, and a well known scam. I get these calls too, 2-3 times a week, and they come in on a phone number I don't use, not the one I've given to Google for my accounts.

Google "Google Specialist" and you'll find hundreds and hundreds of people talking about the calls, as well as Google ads above the results with the headline "Google Never Robocalls - Report Suspicious Calls". The ad links you to the Report Google Robocall Scam form, where you can help Google track down the companies running the robocall campaigns:

https://www.google.com/safetycenter/everyone/start/report-ro...

Someone1234
Indeed. Totally not Google.

Also these companies call entire blocks of phone numbers that are "typically" associated with businesses (they can see what is a residential and what is a business block, and call the corresponding one with the appropriate scam(s)).

This link has more info on the "Google Specialist" scam (and what they're selling): http://www.mechamcompany.com/getting-calls-from-a-google-spe...

poppup
Thanks for the information...I would think Google would make sure they don't use their name by taking them to court as it affects their brand.