What to Do When Your Business is Attacked by Google Robocalls

Picture this:

You are at work, plugging away at your to-do list, minding your own business.

Your phone rings. It’s a call from an unfamiliar number.

You answer. A recorded voice tells you that your company is about to disappear completely from Google’s business listings, unless you make a payment right now.

HANG UP. It’s a scam.

The real Google will never call you to make threats about your listings or demand immediate payments for anything.

Google Phone Scams

These phony calls are generated by scammers posing as Google. Some of those scams are focused on getting money from unsuspecting victims. Others are shady companies using threats to force business owners to buy unnecessary Google My Business management services. The robocall may ask you to verify your GMB listing or pressure you to pay them immediately over the phone to prevent your business from being labeled Permanently Closed in GMB. While these telemarketing scams are being prosecuted and shut down, there are always new ones popping up to take their place.

What to Do When Scam GMB Calls Come In

Some scammers are relentless, sending repeated calls to your phone from different numbers every time. Scammers are becoming sneakier than ever by using a method called “neighbor spoofing.” This is when the unwanted call comes from a number that’s local to your own. You may suspect the call is coming from a neighbor or your children’s school. Some people even receive calls from their own phone number. It’s a trick scammers use to get more people to answer more robocalls.

There are four things to remember if you receive Google robocalls:

• Hang up immediately. If you never engage with the spammer, they will eventually give up and move on to their next potential victim.
• Never press any buttons in response to prompts or questions posed by the robocall. Even if the recording tells you to press a number to be placed on their do not call list – don’t press any buttons. They will never add you to their do not call list. Just hang up.
• Add the phone number to your Blocked list.
• Report the call to Google by completing this online form.

Reporting Google Phone Scams to the Federal Government

If the unwanted calls are coming into your personal phone, get on the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registry. Once you have been on the list for 31 days, you can report unwanted calls to the FTC by completing their online form. You can also report the call to the Federal Communications Commission online. While the FCC doesn’t handle complaints directly, the information you submit will help develop future policies and thus, future enforcement of calls violating communications laws.

Placing your business phone number on the Do Not Call Registry could be catastrophic for business. So what else can a business owner do to stop robocalls? You could ask your phone service provider about spam call blocking. However, scammers use a seemingly endless array of phone numbers, and most call blocking technology is still not smart enough to keep up with robocall programs.

Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire way to stop spam calls altogether. If you are careful and diligent about hanging up on spam calls, blocking spammy numbers and reporting spam calls, you should see a decrease in the number of bogus Google robocalls you receive.

PointA Can Help

PointA’s local listings management services will whip your Google listings into shape – and keep them that way. Complete our contact form today, and a member of our team will be in touch right away.