Google just found hundreds of unlawful listings across its Google Maps platforms that include fake businesses.
The tech giant initiated legal action against possible scammers who seem to be behind this fraudulent scheme. The case shared on Wednesday spoke about an individual working inside a bigger network who not only made fake businesses but also sold those illegal business profiles.
The first warning arose from a businessman in Texas sharing an unlicensed locksmith who pretended to be him on Google Maps. The news has sparked a new investigation that forced the search giant to investigate and find more than 10,000 illegal listings as per the company. Such scams ranged from fake profiles to real accounts getting hacked or hijacked.
Once users were alerted of this type of fraud, they had to make some extreme efforts to identify similar fraud listings, as shared by the company’s General Counsel. Most of the scams were linked to duress verticals, which is a term for services needed in stressful situations like being a locksmith or taking part in towing activities.
With time, Google shared how sophisticated scammers have become. As per the investigation, the organization shared how such scammers won’t be working alone. They unite with agents around the globe and leverage apps to better reach. One of the cases showed how a scammer published ads for the feature in different groups on Facebook. He boasted the services with fake five-star reviews that bypassed the tech giant’s guidelines.
So the question is how such scammers end up operating. DeLaine Prado shared a list of distinctive tactics that the scammers may have used to operate. For starters, they used the bait-and-switch method. When users search for local services, they fall for fake scammers instead of professionals with licenses.
On other occasions, clients think they’re calling real companies but the number gets intercepted and routed via a lead generation service that sends the same call to scammers. In both methods, the consumer is connected with a new company instead of the firm they thought they would be getting in touch with.
After that, the scam service arrives and then demands a higher price than what was quoted at the start. As per Google, these scams are targeting those in duress verticals so clients are in a vulnerable or stressful situation. So they’re exploited by scammers.
The company is sharing its fair share of guidelines on how users can stay safe and away from these threat actors. For instance, you must trust your gut instinct. If something appears a little off, then chances are that it is. It’s so important to confirm the legitimacy of the organization.
Remember to take out moments and verify the URL and phone number to ensure they’re matching with the ad. Another major red flag is being aware of anyone trying to ask more queries than required. For instance, no one needs your social security number for a mailing list so don’t fall in that trap.
Users should also similarly be warned about clients if they’re forced to pay for things in another unconventional manner such as via gift cards or through wire transfer.
As far as what the tech giant is doing to keep users safe, it shared a list of tools in use for identifying fraud through the platform. The company shared how it has no room for fake listing services and that’s why it’s going as far as to use automated programming for analysts to get the job done.
Google shared how business profiles found online hold great value to companies and clients. Many small-scale enterprises are found through such listings and discovered through word of mouth. Google mentioned how most of the alleged scammers sell fake positive reviews to a company to suppress real negative reviews on the app.
Customers don’t really consider that such reviews for a listing could be fake so they follow them and end up making the wrong decision depending on what services they should or shouldn’t be using. Remember, fake profiles and reviews undermine the reliability you put in the ecosystem used by thousands.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Google Axed News for Millions—And What They Found Could Spark a Major EU Showdown!
The tech giant initiated legal action against possible scammers who seem to be behind this fraudulent scheme. The case shared on Wednesday spoke about an individual working inside a bigger network who not only made fake businesses but also sold those illegal business profiles.
The first warning arose from a businessman in Texas sharing an unlicensed locksmith who pretended to be him on Google Maps. The news has sparked a new investigation that forced the search giant to investigate and find more than 10,000 illegal listings as per the company. Such scams ranged from fake profiles to real accounts getting hacked or hijacked.
Once users were alerted of this type of fraud, they had to make some extreme efforts to identify similar fraud listings, as shared by the company’s General Counsel. Most of the scams were linked to duress verticals, which is a term for services needed in stressful situations like being a locksmith or taking part in towing activities.
With time, Google shared how sophisticated scammers have become. As per the investigation, the organization shared how such scammers won’t be working alone. They unite with agents around the globe and leverage apps to better reach. One of the cases showed how a scammer published ads for the feature in different groups on Facebook. He boasted the services with fake five-star reviews that bypassed the tech giant’s guidelines.
So the question is how such scammers end up operating. DeLaine Prado shared a list of distinctive tactics that the scammers may have used to operate. For starters, they used the bait-and-switch method. When users search for local services, they fall for fake scammers instead of professionals with licenses.
On other occasions, clients think they’re calling real companies but the number gets intercepted and routed via a lead generation service that sends the same call to scammers. In both methods, the consumer is connected with a new company instead of the firm they thought they would be getting in touch with.
After that, the scam service arrives and then demands a higher price than what was quoted at the start. As per Google, these scams are targeting those in duress verticals so clients are in a vulnerable or stressful situation. So they’re exploited by scammers.
The company is sharing its fair share of guidelines on how users can stay safe and away from these threat actors. For instance, you must trust your gut instinct. If something appears a little off, then chances are that it is. It’s so important to confirm the legitimacy of the organization.
Remember to take out moments and verify the URL and phone number to ensure they’re matching with the ad. Another major red flag is being aware of anyone trying to ask more queries than required. For instance, no one needs your social security number for a mailing list so don’t fall in that trap.
Users should also similarly be warned about clients if they’re forced to pay for things in another unconventional manner such as via gift cards or through wire transfer.
As far as what the tech giant is doing to keep users safe, it shared a list of tools in use for identifying fraud through the platform. The company shared how it has no room for fake listing services and that’s why it’s going as far as to use automated programming for analysts to get the job done.
Google shared how business profiles found online hold great value to companies and clients. Many small-scale enterprises are found through such listings and discovered through word of mouth. Google mentioned how most of the alleged scammers sell fake positive reviews to a company to suppress real negative reviews on the app.
Customers don’t really consider that such reviews for a listing could be fake so they follow them and end up making the wrong decision depending on what services they should or shouldn’t be using. Remember, fake profiles and reviews undermine the reliability you put in the ecosystem used by thousands.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Google Axed News for Millions—And What They Found Could Spark a Major EU Showdown!
