How to Find and Report Fake Businesses on Google Maps
The next time you go out to order a pizza or call someone to fix the appliance, make sure you haven’t been tricked by a representative of a company that doesn’t really exist.
Google Maps has a problem with fake companies, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Some of the fakes are scams trying to defraud customers, and some are imitators trying to undermine the competition. Whatever the motivation, according to a WSJ report, there could be over 11 million people on Google Maps right now.
Google responded to the report by removing fake listings of companies implicated in the WSJ investigation. The company also released a statement clarifying its policies and tools to combat such ads, noting that in 2018 alone, it removed nearly three million fake businesses and 150,000 user profiles associated with these scams.
The prevalence of fake ads is, to put it mildly, alarming, and it is important to know how to detect a fake one yourself.
What fake businesses look like on Google Maps
Signs of fake business on Google Maps are pretty easy to spot if you know what you are looking for. These include:
- If user reviews claim the company is fake, misleading or fraudulent.
- If the business is not actually located at the address shown on Google Maps, the business name is incorrect or the business profile images do not match its location.
- If your company address is a PO Box, Home, Shared Office, or Virtual Office.
- Likewise, if you know the whereabouts of a company but find other advertisements claiming to be so, this is a sign that someone might be creating imposter profiles to disrupt the business.
- If your company profile is filled with keywords that look like they’re trying to trick Google’s results rather than providing useful information to potential customers.
- If the company’s phone number is fake or insincere. Including if the number redirects to another business; no one answers or has a suspicious voicemail box; disabled; or doesn’t work at all. If someone responds, make sure they are responding on behalf of the company.
- Using bogus URLs or bogus email addresses (especially if the company’s website doesn’t exist or the company’s emails bounce back).
- A business profile includes virtually non-identifying information such as contact information, opening hours, website, user reviews / ratings, etc. These omissions are not necessarily critical in themselves, but can help build a business if you run at any of the other points listed above.
That being said, some fake companies will do their best to look real, while some real companies will have the minimum information needed to be listed on Google, despite the fact that this is a completely legal operation. To protect yourself, make sure you negotiate the prices of your services well in advance and confirm they are correct – in writing if possible – before starting a selling business.
While this type of fraud can theoretically happen to any business, Google argues that the companies most prone to fraud are what the company calls “verticals of enforcement.” These are businesses that are usually called on in an emergency or on short notice – like towing companies, repairmen, locksmiths, plumbers, etc. – so be extra careful when looking for these types of services. When in doubt, check your findings with another service (such as Yelp) to see if the location is right for you.
How to report a fake company or provide misleading information
If you come across a profile that needs to be corrected or deleted, you can flag the information that needs updating, both in desktop and mobile versions of Google Maps:
- Open your business profile on Google Maps.
- Scroll down and click or tap “Suggest Editing”.
- Choose whether you want to change the information or request deletion.
- Fill out the form and click “Submit”. The more information you provide , the faster Google can make changes.
In addition to flagging content in an app, Google has two other ways to report false information in more serious cases:
- You can submit content for removal using the Google Content Removal Request Form .
- If you need to officially report a fraud, please use the official Google Claims Claim Form . To file a claim, you will need to provide your personal information and as much evidence as possible.
Finally, business owners, especially those in “vulnerable verticals,” should follow Google’s guidelines for business presentation and use its helpful business profile tools to reduce the likelihood of fake people creating deceptive copyright profiles.