Don't Necessarily Trust the First Phone Number That Pops Up in Your Online Search

Google it.

It’s a phrase that has become so common, it’s published in the dictionary.

But don’t just trust, click, and call any search result that pops up first.

If you do a quick Google search to find a phone number to call a specific company, beware of an ad that might come up in the results.

Sure, it might say the company’s name, but did you know another business can buy an ad on Google saying that they are this so-called company and put its number in the call button that pops up first?

You’re going to want to think twice before clicking call after seeing these travelers’ stories.

The Slaninas so look forward to visiting their grandkids in South Carolina.

But when Ed Slanina shared with his wife that he wanted to bring his golf clubs with them on the trip too, the Illinois couple decided they needed to upgrade their United Airlines tickets.

So, they pulled out their phones. Slanina said his wife, “She Googled and goes ‘OK, here’s United’s number.’ ‘I go okay.’ So we used her phone to call.”

The agent on the other end upgraded their seats, adding additional luggage, but during the call, Ed had a feeling something was off -- and he was right.

Ed said he asked the agent, “’You do work for United right?’ And he goes ‘Yes, I work for United.’”

As the conversation continued, there was another red flag.

“At the very end, he says ‘Don’t go rushing to look at your charges, you’re not going to understand everything on there,’” Slanina said.

While they thought they called United directly, there were charges from a travel company Slanina had never heard of.

“We looked at it on our bank statement and it was a $70 increase for the ticket, the $120 baggage charge, and a $454 charge for Virago Travel Agency.”

So, let’s back track a second.

Remember the Slanina’s Google search for “United Airlines?”

Salina’s wife clicked the “call” button closest to the search feature, likely not noticing this small but very important word: Ad.

And the Slaninas are not alone. A California woman recently experienced something similar.

Alice Klein’s request to change a typo on a recent reservation cost her a lot, after a quick Google and click on that first call button.

“It was two or three thousand dollars more and I didn’t realize until later that I had not been speaking to United Airlines,” she said.

So, who were Klein and the Salinas speaking with?

Both of their bank statements led NBC Responds teams around the country to Virago Travels, a company registered to an apartment complex in California.

A spokesperson initially responded to NBC’s request for more details and then stopped answering.

In both cases, Virago Travels actually made the requested changes for the traveler, but then tacked on a charge for itself too.

United Airlines said Virago Travels should not have modified either booking, rather it should have referred the consumers to the real United.

A spokesperson for Google says, “The ads in question violate our misrepresentation policies. These ads have been removed.”

But with this comes a warning.

Google is putting the onus on those of us who do the search writing, “Consumers should clearly read all information on the listing before clicking on a call button.”

A recent VARN survey shows Klein and the Slaninas are not alone.

More than half of users don’t recognize paid ads on Google when they see them.

NBC contacted both Ed's and Alice’s banks with what we learned, and they both were refunded all of their money, but these travelers don’t want you to make the same mistake.

“It just seemed very unreal that this could happen,” said Klein.

Our call button warning goes beyond just airlines.

NBC Responds Googled other big name businesses--a national carpet cleaner, huge insurance company, and more, and often we got a call button that rang up a smaller competitor.

Like Alice and Ed, if you have a consumer issue or need help getting your hands on your hard-earned cash, our NBC CT Responds team is committed to do just that—respond.

Submit your complaint here.