Google Maps is reportedly filled with numerous fake operations that are posing as real businesses, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
The report estimates that there are currently around 11 million fake businesses listed on Google Maps, and that new fake listings with false numbers and addresses appear on the platform every month.
It turns out there are many reasons why someone would create a fake business. Scam artists create fake listings to impersonate a legitimate business to lure customers.
For instance, the WSJ spoke to a woman who was conned by a fake repair service that she found on Google Maps. She didn’t realize she was going to see a con artist who was impersonating a company contractor. The scam artist ending up doing a poor job, and charged her nearly twice as much as her previous repairs.
Google published a blog post shortly after the WSJ story was published, and said that it is working to take down fake posts. The company stated that it removed three million fake business profiles last year.
“We have an entire team dedicated to addressing these issues and taking constant action to remove profiles that violate our policies,” Google said.
It also said that it introduced a new way to report suspicious business profiles, and that businesses can verify their listings through a phone call.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Google
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