A Stephenville woman wants businesses in the Bay St. George area to be aware of a scam that’s on the go with someone impersonating Google.
Ashley Pomeroy of Pulse Business Consulting, a company she formed a short while ago, said she has been working with businesses in the Stephenville area that have been receiving harassing calls from data collection companies impersonating Google.
She said they threaten to remove your listing from Google or say they’re going to get you a top ranking in Google for between $400 to $600.
Pomeroy is asking business owners and operators in the area to not give any of their information to the caller and as advised by the Better Business Bureau, to hang up immediately.
She said if you go through the process with them, they will overtake your Google listing and you will have no control over how your business appears on Google.
Pomeroy said the main way people are finding a business these days is through a Google search, so having the right information claimed by the owner is very important.
She said the best way to insure that your business on Google remains yours is to follow the Google Go To guide on how to claim your business page: https://www.en.advertisercommunity.com/t5/Go-To-Guides/S1-How-to-claim-or-create-a-business-page/td-p/1225801#.
To check out how the Better Business Bureau were investigating a similar scam in another jurisdiction, go to: https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/17916-scam-alert-google-scam-targeting-small-business-owners?fbclid=IwAR3IGWQ0h4jgKhqAxQw-2j_2V-PFxauADKhC69oZP1YKsrvNsaI2rGTYG9Q
Pomeroy said if any business owner or operator has questions or want clarification on this scam, she can be contacted by email at: [email protected].
