Google is pursuing a network of scammers that manipulate Google Maps by faking or shaving about 10,000 business lists in people who are not in money. The main defendant named at Demanda is a Maryland person who is said to play a key role in the technique by helping teams of scammers around the world to accomplish this.
The lawsuit, first reported Through CBS News, the person said for two years that “Google services have been abused to create fake online lists for businesses that do not exist and to strengthen them with fake reviews from people who do not.” It also claims the person engaged in a “lead-generation” method by selling information to other scammers about the people he attracted through his fake business lists.
A standard scam is involved with a victim calling a business, such as a locksmith, located on Google Maps, only to be able to rerout in another number. That number will connect them to an irrelevant locksmith, which can charge an inflated price for the service once they arrive home. “This behavior is misleading consumers and tend to erase their confidence in Google business profiles as a reliable and safe way to find and interact with local businesses,” the company told the company Demanda.
Google said it received a complaint from a Locksmith in Texas introduced to Google Maps, and then began a deeper investigation into what was uncovered a greater trend. The company has used automatic scanning tools and a dedicated analyst team to investigate complaints and weak -suspected activity, discovering thousands of fake profiles or hijack business accounts taken by scammers.
Google removed these fake lists from Google Maps, blocked the accounts that created them, and filed legal action in response. However, the lawsuit said Maryland's male method remains “active and continuous” with his latest scam attempt against businesses in the Washington DC area over the past few weeks.
“Fake business lists are prohibited from Google Maps, and we use a set of tools to protect businesses and users,” Google General Counsel Halimah Delaine Prado said in a statement sent to CNET. “This trial generates our efforts and sends a clear message that pretending schemes will not be accepted.”
To avoid being victimized by these scams, Prado advised “CBS Mornings Plus” this week that users visit Scamspotters.com to find the latest warnings. He also recommends checking the URLs to make sure they match the legitimate business, pause if they ask unnecessary personal information such as a Social Security number for a mailing list, and watch the wrong authors, wire transfer requests or requests for card gift payments.
