Beware of wine listings on Google Maps - it could be an online scam

• Google Maps’ crowdsourcing nature is being exploited by fraudsters to mint money.
• Unsuspecting buyers call on the phone numbers posted by fraudsters to order home delivery of booze.
• Fraudsters then ask these buyers to make an advance payment via Paytm or send their card details.

Google Maps encourages users to post pictures of places they visit so that others know more about the place. However, this feature now seems to be helping fraudsters mint money off people looking for booze delivery in India.

According to a report on Android Police, the issue was first spotted by Twitter user @DrunkenPandaman when he tried to place an order at a Mumbai-based wine shop. The user also mentioned that the same number has been posted on several wine shops across the city.

What is the Google Maps booze delivery scam?

Fraudsters post images with their own phone numbers on wine shop listings. When someone contacts them for a delivery, they ask the buyer for advance payment. Once the buyer pays the fraudsters, they stop responding.

One of the fraudsters went a step ahead and scammed a Mumbai resident off ₹1.25 lakh while pretending to deliver booze from a shop named Ujwal Wines. When the victim reached Andheri East police station to file a complaint against Ujwal Wines, he realized that Ujwal Wines had already filed a complaint that his shop’s name was being used to scam people.

How has Google responded?

Soon after the above report was posted, Google issued the following statement –

“Spammers and others with negative intent are a problem for consumers, businesses and technology companies that provide local business information. We’re always working on new and better ways to fight these issues and keep our information up to date. We use automated and manual systems to detect for spam and fraud, but we tend not to share details behind our processes so as not to tip off spammers or others with bad intent.

We take allegations of fraud very seriously. When an issue like this one is reported to us, we investigate the claims. Upon completion of the investigation, we take actions in line with our findings.”

While Google has taken action and removed the photos on some listings, a few wine shop listings still have such images in Google Maps.

Some wine shops have started to tackle this issue by adding an advisory for customers in their listing name. A Twitter user from Bengaluru shared an image from a wine shop that shows they have put up a notice informing users about the online scam and informing them about their official numbers. At present, the listing does not have such images posted.

How to avoid such booze delivery scams?

The first thing that you need to do is avoid calling on numbers posted on wine shop listings. Every listing provides a contact number that is updated by the owner themselves. You can use this number to inquire about delivery.

In addition to this, do not make advance payments and never share your card details with anyone. If you place an order, ask them if they allow you to pay cash at the time of delivery.

If you come across any such images, we recommend you report it to Google using the report button. This will help Google identify and remove such images.

See also:

A new kind of financial fraud is using the Indian army as decoy

Scammers are now using WhatsApp to steal money - here’s how you can protect yourself