Website designer, Owner
Phone scams are an everyday part of life, especially if you own a business. We decided to make one particular fraud attempt known and understood: the Google Business listing verification call.
Bogus Google Business Profile verification calls are made by various fraudulent telemarketers, not Google itself, often using automated Robo calls to threaten listing suspension. Known impersonating entities include "G verifiers," "G Hyperlocal," and scammers offering fake "Google voice search" or SEO services.
If you receive these calls, hang up, do not press any buttons, and block the number. You can report these scammers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if you wish to do so. Over time, their calling tactics have changed. They often use, or spoof, local area code phone numbers to try to get more people to answer the calls. A much more recent shift we have seen is that they are now spoofing local business names and phone numbers to increase answer rates for these calls.
The callers don't even limit their calls to businesses with truly poorly built Google Business listings. For example, our two businesses, Alaska Web Studio and Outten Riding Ranch, both have verified Google Business listings that are optimized and well-maintained. We have answered a few of these calls for entertainment purposes. They will first verify that you are the business owner. Then, they will look up your business listing. In our case, they usually say, "Oh, we see your Google business listing seems to be at the top of the searches…" In the end, it's a numbers game to them. They try to get as many people to answer the calls so they can convince you that you truly need their services.
