Wiretapping the Secret Service can be easy and fun | Bryan Seely | TEDxKirkland
Why Hacker News recommends it
Referenced as a concrete example of how weak Google Maps listing verification enables phone fraud and impersonation.
What it is
Bryan Seely tells how he used fake Google Maps business listings to intercept phone calls meant for the Secret Service and FBI. He then turned himself in, and the talk explains the verification gaps that made it possible.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2018 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Cites adiian · 2018-11 · on “Scammers are changing the contact details for banks on Google Maps”
In 2014 Bryan Seely wiretapped FBI and Secret Service exploiting the Google maps (lack of) verification process. According to his tedtalk, Google was not to eager to fix the problem and it seems things didn't change much since then. [this video]
Cites electrograv · 2018-11 · on “We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly”
P.S. In fact, here is evidence that Google does absolutely nothing about fraudulent directory listings and ads, like the one you seek to think will be solved by Google moving into China: [this video]
Cites relic · 2019-06 · on “Google Maps is filled with false business addresses pretending to be nearby”
I happened on a YouTube video of a TedX talk where a guy is really into this Google Maps scam. He got to the point where he was able to impersonate the US Secret Service and recorded a bunch of phone calls. The Secret Service told google to fix their maps issue, but he said they just disabled some features and reactived them without change a few weeks later. [this video]
Cites Scion9066 · 2024-05 · on “You receive a call on your phone. The caller says they're from your bank”
It's not just ads or banks, here's a talk from someone who used fake Google Maps listings to intercept phone calls between law enforcement: Wiretapping the Secret Service Can Be Easy and Fun | Bryan Seely | TEDxKirkland [this video]