Let’s say you’ve posted a notice online — an item for sale, for example, or a plea to find a lost pet — and included your phone number. In this scam the crook will call you, feign interest, but say they want to verify first that you aren’t a scammer. They tell you that you are about to get a verification code from Google Voice (their virtual phone and text service) sent to you and ask you to read it back. What’s really going on: They are setting up a Google Voice account in your name. “They can go on to perpetrate scams and pretend to be you, hiding their footprint from law enforcement,” says Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
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How to stay safe: “Never share verification codes with anyone,” Velasquez says. If you have fallen for this scam, you’ll find steps to reclaim your account at the Google Voice Help Center.
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