Are you tired of answering your phone only to hear an automated voice on the other end asking you to update or verify your Google listing? We get them at my digital marketing agency all the time and I have even gotten a few on my cell.
Google has finally gotten tired of it too and has taken action against one of the companies falsely using their name and breaking the laws for telemarketers by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission).
Who Are Behind the Fake Google My Business Robocalls?
In my opinion, desperate search engine optimization companies are the ones making these calls. They usually initiate the call with a recorded message that you need to update or verify your business listing on Google or Google My Business. Once connected to a live person you will be told various false statements connecting the company to Google when there is none and they will try to sell you on their services.
Despite what the automated system and live representative may say, according to the official Google blog on the topic, “These illegal calls are a huge nuisance, cause small businesses and Google users to unnecessarily worry, and can lead to rip-offs. Illegal robocalls never have, and never will, come from Google.”
Don’t Press 5 To Be Removed From Their List!
And when that robotically pleasant, automated message tells you that if you press a certain number you will be removed from their list – don’t do it! Google states that you should not press any number when you get these calls. Just hang up and then call to report it to the FCC or FTC or on Google My Business’s newly created page for reporting abusive robocalls. If you do press a number then you are likely to be submitted to the robocallers data banks and will only receive more calls.
What Took Google So Long?
In case you are wondering why Google allowed this to go on for so long, it is because the companies behind these robocalls are very hard to track down – even for Google. To illustrate how the robocall companies operate, the FTC has provided an infographic that breaks it down. As you see when you look at the infographic, they use a combination of geography, technology and the phone call itself to bury who they are and where the call originates.
This won’t end annoying robocalls, but hopefully it will slow them down a bit. For now, keep reporting them and we’ll all hope for a future free from these types of calls.
