NEW YORK – If you run a small business, especially a brick and mortar business with a physical address you are likely being solicited, potentially multiple times per day, by different companies often over robocalls from companies who claim they are Google. Often these calls are regarding your Google listing or Google Maps placement which is being reported to you as being inaccurate and out of date.
To unsuspecting businesses this can be alarming and tricky to detect as fraud, yet that is what it is, fraud.
Marketing companies tell their targets that they are calling directly from Google by claiming to be a “Google Specialist” or “Google Maps Professional” and small businesses are falling for it hook, line and sinker.
Today, Google released an update on its blog to let people know they’re onto this scam and they are fighting back by taking legal action against these companies who solicit businesses with Google’s brand in the cross-hairs. Google is also hoping to set an strong example for companies doing this that its short lived success is over as they will begin efforts to shut them down.
Additionally, Google has made available a consumer reporting tool for businesses to use to quickly report these types of callers and companies.
Unfortunately, sometimes third-parties contact businesses purporting to be from Google. Today, we announced new efforts against bad actors that target businesses this way, including a reporting tool. A summary from our blog post https://t.co/rN3DsT6LcB pic.twitter.com/yUJX8ng3us
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 23, 2018
The message was posted by Google’s new Search Liaison Danny Sullivan, widely known in the SEO community.
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