Slashdot Mirror
Fake Google Salesmen Are Actually SEO Telemarketers (vortex.com)
Long-time Slashdot reader Lauren Weinstein writes: It seems like almost every day I get junk solicitation phone calls "from Google." They call about my Google business local listings, about my not being on the first page of Google search results, and so on -- and they want me to pay them to "fix" this stuff. When I look up the Caller ID numbers they use, I often finds pages of people claiming they're Google phone numbers. Sometimes the Caller ID display actually says Google!
Is Google really doing this? Negative. NONE of these calls are from Google. Zero. Zilch. Nada. These callers are inevitably "SEO"; (Search Engine Optimization) scammers of one sort or another. They make millions of "cold calls" to businesses using public phone listings (from the Web or other sources) or using phone number lists purchased from brokers. If you ever actually deal with them, you'll find that their services typically range from useless to dangerous.
Is Google really doing this? Negative. NONE of these calls are from Google. Zero. Zilch. Nada. These callers are inevitably "SEO"; (Search Engine Optimization) scammers of one sort or another. They make millions of "cold calls" to businesses using public phone listings (from the Web or other sources) or using phone number lists purchased from brokers. If you ever actually deal with them, you'll find that their services typically range from useless to dangerous.
Google actually takes these guys on. I wrangled one of them into giving me a mailing address to pay by check and reported it to Google they were prompt in responding,got me in touch with their legal department and took as much info as I could give them. I saw on the news 2 months later that they filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against that exact company so it's clear they're always building cases against these guys.
Best not to interact with them at all. Any interaction gets you on a "live prospect" list, which they can sell to other scammers.
--Don't answer if you don't recognize the caller. Your friends or business contacts will leave a message.
--If you do answer, hang up the second you figure it out. Don't ask to be put on their do not call list, don't "press 9 to be removed," Anything proves to them that there is a live person at that number.
--Get on the real true Do Not Call list: https://www.donotcall.gov/. Once this takes effect you know that any unknown caller is a scam, because the scammers do not honor the Do Not Call list.
--Anytime you get a mortgage, credit card, insurance, etc. fill in and submit their privacy form when you apply, before they can sell your name. The form should have a tick box saying no calls, emails or mail not directly related to your account. And of course, no selling to third parties.
When the scammers get no-answers or immediate hang-ups for a while, your number becomes less valuable. My calls have slowly faded away since I started doing these things.
Of course you will still get political calls (in US, first amendment?), and calls from people you have done business with. But these last should honor Do Not Call if you ask. And you know where they are.