Who is 855 836 3987?

You may have noticed an unfamiliar charge on your credit or debit card statement from Google, or received a text/email about a Google subscription fee that you don‘t remember signing up for. Some users see amounts charged ranging from a few cents to several dollars, or even larger unauthorized transactions. You are not alone – many consumers have reported unexpected Google charges at some point. So who exactly is 855 836 3987, and why is Google charging you?

Why am I being charged by Google?

There are a variety of reasons you may see a charge from Google on your bank statement:

• App/Media purchases: If you‘ve ever bought an app, movie, book, music or other content from the Google Play store, the charge will show up as Google or Google Play on your statement. A quick search online shows over 3 million apps available on Google Play with over 150 billion downloads to date. Games are especially popular, from casual titles like Candy Crush to immersive RPGs. Audiobooks, movies, TV shows and millions of songs can also be purchased.

• Subscriptions: Google offers subscriptions for services like YouTube Premium, Google One cloud storage, Google Play Music, YouTube TV, Google Stadia and more. Here‘s a quick overview of some of their most popular subscription options:

Ongoing subscription fees will appear as Google charges each month, identified as the specific service on your card statement. Over 20 million users pay for YouTube Premium alone, and Google‘s subscription revenues hit almost $5 billion in 2020.

• Service fees: Google charges small service fees for certain Google Pay transactions to merchants internationally. Even if you purchase from another retailer, a Google fee of a few cents may show up if you checked out with Google Pay. These fees help offset the costs of providing the payment processing services globally.

• Holds: When you use a new credit/debit card for Google Play or add it to your Google account, Google may put a temporary authorization hold of a few dollars on it to verify the card details. This hold will drop off in a few days and you won‘t actually be charged.

• Fraudulent activity: Unfortunately, sometimes Google charges are not authorized at all. If your card details have been compromised, criminals can use the stolen info to make real or fake Google purchases. More on how to spot and deal with unauthorized charges below…

According to bloomberg.com, you are required to manage your account directly with Google regarding any issues with charges. You can contact Google Customer Support directly at 855-836-3987 for help identifying and disputing unauthorized transactions.

Why do I have Google charges on my bank account?

You may find a charge on your account with the descriptor GOOGLE *TEMPORARY HOLD. It may be cut short on your bank statement. This is a pending charge for a transaction that hasn‘t been processed yet. When the transaction goes through, it‘ll go away and you won‘t be charged.

These pending holds are often done by merchants to validate your card details before a purchase. Gas stations in particular do this frequently – they may pre-authorize $1 on your card at the pump before you actually start filling up. The hold will drop off once the final amount clears.

Google uses similar pre-authorization charges when you register a new payment method to make sure it‘s legitimate and has sufficient funds. No need to worry about actual duplicate charges here – it‘s just a temporary validation blip.

How do I find out why Google is charging me?

Charges for Google products or services appear on your card statement starting with "Google." If it‘s a Google Play purchase, you can visit the Play Store order history in your Google account to see details:

1. Go to play.google.com on your browser.
2. Click on the profile icon in the top right corner.
3. Click on "Payments & Subscriptions".
4. Select "Order History" to see all previous app, music, movie purchases through Google Play.

The transaction description will tell you exactly what the charge was for.

All Google Play purchases also appear on your card statement under these names:

• "GOOGLE*App developer name," for Android apps.
• "GOOGLE *Google Play" for media like music, books, movies.
• The specific subscription name like "Google Play Music Subscription"

According to support.google.com, you can view your full Google account history including pending charges to identify unknown transactions:

1. Log into your Google account
2. Go to Payments & Subscriptions to see all billing activity.

Here you‘ll find every Google charge including holds and pre-authorizations. Make sure to look at pending charges too, not just posted transactions.

What if I see small Google charges I don‘t recognize?

It‘s common for identity thieves to test stolen card information by charging small amounts, often just a few dollars. If you notice one or more tiny Google charges that you didn‘t authorize, take action immediately to prevent further fraudulent use of your card.

Follow the steps below if you see any unauthorized Google charges, transactions, or account activity:

• Report it to your bank – Call the number on the back of your card and request to dispute the charges. Ask them to refund any fraudulent amounts. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your maximum liability for unauthorized credit card charges is $50. For debit cards, you must report within 2 days to limit losses.

• Contact Google – Call 855-836-3987 to explain the situation to Google. They may be able to refund unauthorized Google Pay transactions themselves or investigate fraud on your account. Google does have decent fraud monitoring in place as well.

• Change passwords – Reset your Google/Gmail password if you suspect your account was compromised. Make your new password unique and complex – at least 12 characters mixing upper/lowercase, numbers and symbols. Avoid dictionary words or personal info. Consider enabling two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security.

• Remove payment info – Delete any credit cards or bank accounts attached to your Google account to prevent additional fraudulent charges. Under Payment Methods, click the trash can icon to remove the card, then confirm deletion.

• Review statements – Continue monitoring your monthly statements carefully for any other deceptive activity. Make sure to report fraud to your bank quickly whenever spotted.

How to stop Google subscription or service fees

If you are being correctly billed for a Google subscription, but want to cancel it, you can easily manage or remove it:

1. Go to pay.google.com and sign into your account
2. Click on "Subscriptions & Services"
3. Locate the subscription you want to modify
4. Click "Manage" and then "Cancel Subscription" to stop payments going forward

This will prevent any further subscription fees from being charged to your payment method by Google. Make sure to cancel within the current billing period, or you may be charged one final time before the next cycle.

You can also disable auto-renew so the subscription does not continue after the current term. Just toggle this off in the subscription details. With auto-renew off, remember to manually renew a subscription if you want to keep the service after the term expires.

Protecting yourself from unauthorized charges

While Google Pay itself is considered relatively secure, here are some general tips to safeguard yourself against unauthorized credit/debit card charges and account fraud:

• Never share your card or account login details with anyone, especially over email. Google will never ask for this info over email.

• Setup account alerts to notify you of payment activity – Google lets you get emails for charges over a certain amount.

• Use strong unique passwords, set up 2-factor authentication if available.

• Monitor all statements frequently for any ambiguous charges. Report fraud to your bank ASAP.

• Consider using virtual card numbers or payment services like Paypal for higher risk transactions. These generate temporary one-time use card numbers to protect your real account details.

• Beware of phishing emails/calls asking you to "confirm" personal information. Google will not reach out this way.

• Make sure you have a screen lock set up on your mobile device in case it‘s lost or stolen. This will prevent access to payment apps.

• Only download apps from trusted sources like the Google Play store. Beware third party app stores which may have malware.

• When using public WiFi, ensure it‘s a legitimate network, and avoid accessing sensitive accounts.

Stay vigilant, and you can minimize the risk of fraud. But if you do become a victim, act quickly to work with Google and your bank – you may able to recover lost funds. Pay attention to account activity, and you‘ll gain peace of mind knowing exactly where your money is going.

How Google Pay secures your information

Google Pay utilizes tokenization and encryption security to help keep your data safe when you use it to make purchases in stores or apps. Here‘s an overview of how it works:

• Your actual credit or debit card number is never shared with merchants. Instead, a unique virtual account number or "token" is used to represent your card.

• These tokens are encrypted and only stored on your mobile device. Your phone generates a new token for each Google Pay transaction.

• Merchants never receive your real card details or personal information when you pay with Google Pay. This info stays private.

• Every transaction also requires authentication via your phone‘s lock screen, fingerprint or Face ID depending on your device. This prevents unauthorized use.

• Google Pay only works on the specific devices you register it on, for an extra layer of security.

• If your phone is ever lost or stolen, you can remotely disconnect your Google Pay account using Find My Device.

• Credit card networks like Visa provide additional fraud monitoring and protection for Google Pay transactions.

So while no payment system is 100% foolproof, Google Pay is designed with robust security in mind to protect your sensitive information. Always take standard precautions like using strong account passwords and being alert to phishing scams. But overall, Google Pay offers a very secure way to make contactless mobile payments.

Emerging payment technologies

While Google Pay has grown in popularity for mobile transactions, other new payment tech is emerging as well:

• Apple Pay – Works similarly to Google Pay but for iPhone/iPad users. Also uses tokenization and Touch ID/Face ID.

• Samsung Pay – Available on Samsung Galaxy devices; can mimic magnetic stripe card transactions.

• Contactless cards – EMV chip cards can now often just be tapped on readers for purchases under $25-$50 in many countries.

• Wearable payments – Smartwatches like Apple Watch support mobile wallets for payments on the go without your phone.

• QR code payments – Merchants can generate QR codes which customers scan with a payment app to complete purchases.

• Biometrics – Fingerprint, facial recognition, even palm vein scanning is being incorporated into payment terminals and apps for identification.

The common thread is increased security and convenience through technologies like tokenization and tap-to-pay. Google Pay has helped lead the shift away from physical wallets, but many options exist for fast mobile payments while keeping your data safe.

Final thoughts

Hopefully this guide gave you a comprehensive overview of the various kinds of Google charges you may encounter, how to identify unknown transactions, and how to resolve fraudulent activity if necessary. While billing errors or unauthorized charges can be annoying to deal with, just know that Google does provide ways to get them refunded and prevent further issues when reported promptly. If you do have problems, contact their customer support number or your bank right away. Stay vigilant, but rest easier knowing you can rely on effective fraud monitoring and protection for your accounts.