Convenient, popular and useful, online shopping has become a regular part of our life and this is where Google Wallet comes in. 
Google Wallet gives you the option to store all of your loyalty shopper cards in one virtual place, shop online using your stored credit and debit cards as well as even send money securely to friends and family. It’s the first mobile payment system that has brought us out of credit card dark ages. As more and more people are using online services for shopping activities, it has become really important for people to use additional precautions when considering purchasing online.
While using the app- Google Wallet, all financial data is protected and encrypted to provide greater safety. Google Wallet Purchase Protection offers fast transaction, pin-protected and greater convenience. It allows you to pay using any major credit card you have. However, as this feature is so popular amongst online shopping customers, it has been exploited recently by scammers hoping to steal money from unsuspecting users.
Cyber-criminals mislead customers who were using Google Wallet for online shopping and make them believe that their transaction is being conducted through Google Wallet, whereas the payment is actually made by wire transfer. This payment reaches the scammers very easily without even customer knowing about it.
The seller initially sends an invoice that appears to be coming from Google Wallet. These fake invoices look similar to Google Wallet Checkout invoices, informing you about the actual payable amount and instructing you on how to make the payment. They ask you to make a wire payment, through Western Union, MoneyGram or bank transfer. Eventually, the customer makes a wire payment and the scammer succeeds in stealing the money.
Whereas, a genuine Google Wallet transaction will ask you to login to your Google account and use the Google Wallet interface to make the payment. Google Wallet doesn’t accept wire transfers/bank transfers or payments via Western Union/Money Gram.
What persuades the customers to fall in the trap?
When shopping online, customers look for countless options, multiple brands and low prices. Keeping the price of a product exceptionally low that it can hardly be true or an extraordinary scheme which is almost unbelievable, attracts the customers and influences them have a look at it. Once the customer finds the product interesting and decides to make a purchase, he falls in the trap.
Remember that, hackers will always ask for payment unsupported by Google Wallet and request for transactions to be broken down into smaller payments. Google Wallet currently supports payments made by credit or debit cards only. It does not support any other payment methods like wire or bank transfer.
If you are shopping online through Google Wallet, consider the below points:
- Google Wallet currently supports payments made by credit or debit cards only.
- Do not pay via wire or bank transfer with your Wallet account.
- Hackers often try to push for quick payments through wire payment systems, so never make payment using this payment method.
- Be careful of terms such as ‘Verified Google Checkout Agent’, ‘Regional Manager’, or ‘Purchase Protection Account’ in a spoofed invoice. Google Wallet does not contain these terms.
- Hackers usually request high dollar transactions to be broken down into smaller payments.
- Be careful if the amount of the goods seems too-good-to-be-true. Before buying a product, check out a similar product’s price on other websites. If the price is way below the market value, it’s probably a scam.
- Use extra caution with large ticket items. Remember, spoofed invoices are often related to scams for vehicles, boats, pianos, tractors, etc.
Online frauds and scams are increasing day-by-day. Cyber-attacks have become very intelligent and sophisticated. Being aware and proactive will keep you safe from such scams in today’s time.
