Don't believe everything you Google: Norwood police share digital warning

NORWOOD, Mass. — Sarah Barrasso uses a money-sharing app called Cash App, which allows her to share money from her debit card with her husband.

"He needs gas, 'can you send me a quick $10,'" Sarah Barrasso explains.

But last week she had a problem with the app and wanted to call a customer service rep.

"Let me google Cash App phone number and try to speak to a representative so they can fix my issue," she told Boston 25 News.

Barrasso admits she didn't look closely at the search results and called the first number.

"They'll pay a search engine company money to get their spot put on a page and when you click on what you think is a legitimate website, you are actually clicking on their page giving them information," Norwood Police Deputy Chief Peter Kelly said.

That's exactly what Barrasso says happened to her. Her web search for the company she was trying to reach came up with multiple results. She admits she didn't look as closely as she should have.

"Somebody answered and said thank you for calling Cash App, this is Ben," Barrasso said. "I said is this Cash App and he said, 'yes, this is Ben, what can I do?'"

Barrasso says the man on the phone convinced her to download a quick support app so he could look at the problem on her phone remotely. That's when she says the balance on her Cash App account was taken. Norwood police have been working to get the word out about scammers making pages that come up in web searches sometimes up higher than the site you were looking for.

"Just because it is first, doesn't mean it is legitimate," Deputy Chief Kelly said.

Deputy Chief Kelly also oversees a regional computer crime unit and wants people to remember to take a closer look at anything you click on. He says always look closely at the actual web address -- not just the caption on your web search.

He says another good practice is to do a web search on the phone number before you call it.

Cox Media Group