Skip to main content

Protecting Yourself Against Fraudulent Calls

My friend was charged for his Google My Business listing.  Isnt GMB free?

Asked - 1 answer

Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Calls

Google My Business has been a free service for years now and there are no formal plans to make Google My Business a paid service.  So what gives with Google trying to sell me a Google My Business listing?  These people are scam artists.  As per Googles guidelines, Google does not make unsolicited sales calls from an automated system.  Google might make an automated call to your business for non-sales talk such as confirming your business but will never ask you for payment information.  

Google makes automated calls using a voice service called Duplex. If you are in the US you can expect calls from 650-203-0000 or 650-206-5555 and if you are in New Zealand, +649-884-7777.  Calls from these numbers can be from an automated system or a manual operator.  Google might be calling in regards to Google Ads, Google Play, or other Google accounts and services but Google will never ask for payment information or say you can pay them to rank in certain spots.

Here are Googles guidelines on fraudulent calls.

If you receive a suspicious call and are in the US, you can submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or by calling 1-888-382-1222.
Google also has a form you can submit to help Google combat the scammers.

You can also simply hang up the phone.  Do not say “yes” or any words that could be perceived as “yes” such as "ok", or "sure".  Do not press any keys, even if told you can be taken off the call list. Simply hang up the phone and decide if you would like to report the scammer. 
 

Was this article helpful?

Related questions