Yet another online scheme has been going around online that can have a significant negative impact on your business if you get caught in their net.
Your Google My Business (GMB) profile is often the first thing someone sees when they search for your business online. Your customers may even contact you directly from that profile, without even going to your website.
If your GMB account is hijacked, the scammers will change your business information on your profile so calls and website traffic will go to another website or phone instead of getting to YOU. Your competitors could get your leads!
Scammers are using the “Claim this Business” or “Own this Business” in GMB profiles to request access to your account.
Protect Your Business
This is simply another scam that can cost your business time and money (lost customers!) that you need to watch for.
If someone requests access to your business profile, you’ll receive an email alerting you and asking if you want to authorize them as a user. Not only do you need to look for this and make sure you do NOT accept the request, but you also need to tell all users on your GMB account know that they should not accept ANY requests for access.
This means the fewer users on your GMB account, the better!
Remember last week when we talked about cleaning house and checking your social media users and admins? I recommend doing this several times a year and removing anyone that shouldn’t have access.
If a user on your GMB account grants the scammer access, the scammer will change your business information. The lost time resolving the problem and the lost revenue from leads going to competitors is reason enough to watch for this and protect your business. Getting this problem resolved takes precious time and resources away from running your business.
Be aware of the risks and stay alert!
Has your Google My Business account been the victim of a hijacking or are you having other issues that are losing your business revenue? Grab a chat with me and let’s fix it!
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