A traveler's Delta flight was canceled, so he called the airline's number listed on Google. It led to a scammer — then he says he discovered more airlines with the same problem.

21.07.2023 - 13:15 / insider.com / John F.Kennedy / Delta

The Twitter user Shmuli Evers shared a story of canceled flights, scammers, and plenty of red flags.

Under the username @Shmuli, Evers detailed a story that started with a canceled Delta Air Lines flight.

"My @delta flight got canceled from JFK. The customer service line was huge, so I google a Delta JFK phone number. The number was 1888-571-4869 Thinking I reached Delta, I started telling them about getting me on a new flight," he tweeted Sunday.

But that phone call led him to a scam, he said. And, after more digging, Evers said he discovered at least six other airlines with what he suspected were scam numbers listed on Google.

In a statement sent to Insider, a Google spokesperson said: "We do not tolerate this misleading activity, and are constantly monitoring and evolving our platforms to combat fraud and create a safe environment for users and businesses."

Evers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a tweet on Monday, Evers described a lengthy in-person wait at Delta's customer service desk. He said he turned to Google for help booking another flight because his flight had been canceled after he had sat on a plane for 2 ½ hours at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

He said he called the number listed under Delta's contact information for the airport via the search engine.

Evers said that the call initially dropped but that he noticed a "red flag" when he received a call back from a different number. In the hopes that it wasn't a scam, he tweeted that that he gave the person on the phone his name and confirmation number.

That person then offered to help him book a flight later that evening, Evers said.

"He texted me a screenshot of a flight detail from Newark, and asked me to confirm via SMS (red flag) number 845-284-1309. I thought about it and texted him back to go ahead, still thinking I am talking to Delta.." Evers tweeted.

Evers added that he then asked the caller where he was located. Evers said the man told him that he was in Rochester, New York — but when he asked the man where that was located, Evers said he told him it was two hours south of New York City. But Rochester is 5.5 hours northwest of New York City.

For Evers, that was the final red flag. Evers said he refused to share his credit-card information with the caller because they "wanted me to pay him 5 times the price of the original ticket cost."

In a statement sent to Insider, a Delta spokesperson said that "whenever we become aware of an alleged scam targeting our customers, including in this situation, we immediately conduct an investigation. Using the facts gained from an investigation, when able, we can then address each unique situation as appropriate with the necessary legal means at