A week or two doesn’t pass without me getting a perplexed call or email from a client asking,
“We just got a domain renewal, appraisal, and management bill in the mail. Is this legit?”
“We just got a call from Google and they wanted money to boost my listing?”
“Is this domain renewal email a scam? I thought you took care of it.”
“We just got a bill for Google Business Profile marketing. I thought a Google Business Profile was free?”
“Someone called and said our Google Business Profile is not set up correctly. What’s wrong?”
Each client question was an attempted business solicitation and could be a scam.
Domain Registration, Google Business Profiles, and Phone Scams Happen
Business scams using email, SMS text, phone, and snail-mail with domain registration or Google Business Profile as trojan horse subjects to get your attention and give third-party access to your sensitive business information. Unfortunately, this happens all too frequently.
- An estimated 3.4 billion spam phishing emails are sent every day. Phishing, the most common form of cybercrime, is the fraudulent practice of sending emails or SMS texts purporting to be from reputable companies to get you to reveal your personal information, like passwords and credit card numbers.
- One-third of Americans reported being victims of phone scams in 2020.
- 56 million U.S. residents lost money from phone scams in 2020—a 30% increase over 2019.
So there are a lot of scamming attempts out there because just enough of them work making money for criminals.
Google May Call Your Business, and That’s OK
If you’ve set up Google Business Profile for your company, Google may call your business and that’s OK. There are several important things to keep in mind if you get a call:
- Google makes ONLY AUTOMATED CALLS related to Google Business Profile. Your business may receive an automated call—not a real person—to confirm information about your Google Business Profile listing. The call will clearly state “I’m an automated service” in the first or second sentence. If it’s a live person on the line, hang up the phone and block the number.
- A real-life Google employee may call you about customer service or support issues about Google Ads, Google Play, or other Google accounts. They will never call you to talk about Google Business Profile.
- Google or a Google employee will never ask you for payment information over the phone or guarantee favorable placement in Google’s products.
Tips for Protecting Your Business From Scams
The good news is that there are several ways to protect yourself and your business from scams.
- Hang up the phone. Any phone call that seems off or weird is probably a scam. Hang up and block the number. Don’t press any numbers. Just hang up.
- Send the email to your spam folder without opening it. If the email is from someone you don’t recognize or looks like an impersonation of a brand, DON’T OPEN IT. If you do open it, DON’T CLICK ON ANY LINKS. Send the email to your spam folder immediately.
- Read the fine print of any mailed “notice.” You will usually see “this is not a bill” or similar language in the fine print. Throw the scam mailer into the recycling bin.
- Report suspicious calls and scammers to Google. Contact Google directly via web form.
If the scam call happened on your personal phone, you can add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry at https://www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspx or call 1-888-382-1222.
Remember—stay vigilant. These scams keep happening because they work on the unsuspecting or someone who has let their guard down.
Are you struggling with your business’ branding, strategy, or marketing? Don’t know where to start with updating your company’s brand, website, and marketing campaigns?
Creative Blend Design can help! Our results-driven agency has almost two decades of experience helping businesses and organizations like yours grow efficiently. We’re experts in creating and optimizing our clients’ marketing strategies, branding, search engine optimization, social media campaigns, and much more.
Let’s talk and see how we can help your business grow. Connect with us today.
Stephanie Farber is the Founder & Creative Director of Creative Blend Design. Since 2004, Stephanie has led the development, launch, and optimization of hundreds of targeted, multi-channel marketing plans for non-profit and business clients in San Antonio, Texas, and across the U.S.
