Recent investigations by Google revealed over 10,000 fake business listings on Google Maps, including hijacked legitimate accounts. The discovery followed a complaint from a Texas business about an impersonating locksmith using an altered phone number. Google's response involved removing these listings and filing lawsuits against the scammers. This highlights how vulnerable consumers can be in urgent situations, frequently targeted by scams that exploit people's immediate needs, thus undermining trust in online business ecosystems.
Online profiles are extremely valuable to businesses as well as consumers. Small and medium businesses use those listings for word of mouth and discoverability.
This one incident led Google to ultimately discover a much greater number of fake listings, highlighting the importance of consumer vigilance.
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