business listings – The Map Room

Can Places on Google Maps Be Trusted?

Jonathan Crowe — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:18:31 +0000

Google has been plagued with fraudulent and scammy business listings on Google Maps for years (1, 2). Last April, Google posted about the steps it takes to combat fake content. James Killick points to more recent incidents and wonders whether places on Google Maps can still be trusted; given that he was able to add a fake listing and have it appear on the map within hours, signs point to no.

Millions of Business Listings on Google Maps Are Fake: WSJ

Jonathan Crowe — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 23:51:41 +0000

The Wall Street Journal goes in-depth on a problem Google Maps has had for years: fake and deceptive business listings posted by scam artists that crowd out legitimate local businesses—as many as 11 million such listings at any given moment, according to experts.

Online advertising specialists identified by Google as deft fraud fighters estimated that Google Maps carries roughly 11 million falsely listed businesses on any given day, according to a Journal survey of these experts.

They say a majority of the listings for contractors, electricians, towing and car repair services, movers and lawyers, among other business categories, aren’t located at their pushpins on Google Maps. Shams among these service categories, called “duress verticals” inside Google, can snag people at their most vulnerable.

Those experts and Google disagree as to the extent of the problem. (Which is exacerbated by how easy it is to set up a business listing.) And the scam artists aren’t simply displacing local businesses: they’re resorting to outright extortion: pay up, or we’ll swamp you with bogus listings. [Engadget, The Verge]

When Map Errors Hurt Small Businesses

Jonathan Crowe — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 23:24:44 +0000

We’ve all seen business listings on online maps that don’t quite jibe with reality: the map marker’s on the wrong place, and driving directions don’t get you to your destination. The Wall Street Journal reports on how businesses deal with online map errors. Getting a wrong listing fixed is a rather high priority (a lost customer is a lost customer, if you follow me), but it turns out to be a more time-consuming—and expensive—process than I thought: there are firms that charge thousands of dollars to solve this for you. [via]