PHOENIX — How close do you look at your bank and credit card statement each month?
If it’s not line by line each time, you’re in danger of becoming the next bogus Google charge scam victim.
We started seeing it last year — unauthorized charges on Arizonans’ bank accounts. Most of the charges then were for $13.01. All of them either said Google Play or Google and someone’s name next to the charge.
Check your bank statements: Bogus Google charges appearing
What’s going on? Google didn’t seem to care enough to respond to us. But after our story, boy, did we hear from others…
“There were about 13 transactions about 99 cents,” Matthew, from Texas, says.
Matthew and dozens across the country told us the scam is growing, involving different amounts and different banks.
Check your bank statements as bogus Google charges continue
Is Google investigating? Do banks care how scammers are getting access to customer accounts?
No response.
“Why are these financial institutions being so hush, hush about it? That’s the question of the day,” Matthew says.
Five months after our first story, surely Google and these big banks would have the bogus charges under control.
Instead, this thing is even bigger. And somehow the charges are now ending up on gift cards.
G found eight unauthorized Google charges on a prepaid Vanilla Visa gift card.
They say Google Play but G says, “I don’t have a Google Play…
