A senior IPS officer from Chhattisgarh has urged Google to take action over fake customer care numbers of companies being displayed by its search engine.
In a letter to the technology company, Durg (Range) Inspector General of Police Ram Gopal Garg said that criminals cheat people by posing as customer care executives of entities like banks, insurance companies, hotels and gas agencies by misusing the Google platform.
The fraudsters often use Google advertisements to make fake customer care numbers appear at the top of Google search results, he said in the letter on Wednesday.
“Based on the Google search results, the users believe that these fake numbers are real and they fall into the trap of these cheaters and provide sensitive as well as confidential information," the IGP said.
The IGP said in the letter that it was important to take necessary steps to protect citizens from such frauds considering their impact on society.
IGP Garg also appealed to the public to join the ‘Cyber Prahari’ campaign to become aware of rising online frauds.