{"id":23461,"date":"2025-05-30T15:30:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/appels-de-google-attention-aux-scams\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:34:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:34:43","slug":"google-calls-beware-of-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/google-calls-beware-of-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Calls: Beware of scams!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"hacker<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OK, let\u2019s get something straight here, because this comes up often, too often even. When you manage digital clients, you won\u2019t be able to avoid it, you\u2019re going to get some unwanted Google calls \u2013 but is it really Google?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may even have already had a call from a so-called Google employee who wants to talk to you about your Google Business Profile<\/a>. This legit<\/em>-sounding person tells you that there\u2019s a problem with your profile; it\u2019s not checked, it\u2019s not secure, and he and his gang could be optimising it. Yeah right!<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve got news for you\u2026 IT\u2019S A SCAM!


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s with the Google Scams?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s digital world, it\u2019s vital for your business to get out there and be visible wherever you can, like on Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). But of course, as with everything digital, the first thing that comes along are the hackers, who have fertile imaginations to try and rip you off and defraud you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They say they work for Google, you trust them, you give them access to your company file and then, 4 months later, your account is closed, your company is flagged on the search engines, you\u2019ve just lost $30,000 and you\u2019re forced to sell a kidney to a gangster in Sao Paulo because of a cartel that kidnapped your guinea pig Sylvain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, we\u2019re getting a bit carried away here, but the fact remains that you could have your personal information and data stolen by infecting your computer. The ultimate goal? Take control of your account or use your info for even bigger scams, or even blackmail you.


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Spot a Scam?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, Google will never call you directly. Think about it: if you\u2019re having trouble chatting to their support via their site, do you really think they\u2019re going to call you out of the blue<\/em> and hand you answers on a silver platter? IT\u2019S A SCAM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One common technique is to tell you that your profile has an urgent problem, so they\u2019re playing on emotion, or that it needs to be checked. They offer to sort it out for you, and that\u2019s great, because you save time and you don\u2019t know how to do it anyway, but then they ask you for sensitive information, like login details or even payments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s not just calls. You should also be wary of e-mails or text messages asking you to click on any link to \u201ccheck\u201d or \u201cupdate\u201d your details. In the case of text messages, you will never, ever receive one from Google. They\u2019re not cool. And for emails, make sure you check the sender. Real Google emails will use domains like \u2018@google.com\u2019 and \u2018@google.com\u2019. @google.com\u201d, not some weird business. Not even Gmail.


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Protect Yourself?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Never give out your personal<\/strong> or company details over the phone. A real Google employee wouldn\u2019t ask you for your passwords or bank details. If someone does, hang up and don\u2019t answer. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Never click on a link in a suspicious e-mail or text message.<\/strong> If you think there\u2019s something really wrong with your Google profile, log in directly and see for yourself. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Activate two-factor authentication on your Google Business Account.<\/strong> It\u2019s like a second security guard that can prevent criminals from taking control of your account, even if they have your access. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Educate your employees.<\/strong> Make sure that everyone who has access to your Google Business accounts is aware of these scams.


          <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          What About Facebook?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Yes, because Facebook (Meta) also has its share of digital thieves\u2026 If you have a professional page, it\u2019s inevitable that you\u2019ll receive messages saying things like \u2018your page is scheduled to be deleted\u2019, because supposedly it doesn\u2019t comply with Meta policies. And then they\u2019ll give you a link to click to fill in your details. It\u2019s just business as usual! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The only problem is that you receive these messages privately on your page, in comments on your posts, in comments on your profile photo (which was changed 7 months ago)\u2026 Nothing very legit<\/em>, if you ask us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Once again, it\u2019s worth repeating that big companies like Meta will never contact you directly like that. If there\u2019s something really wrong, you\u2019ll receive an email, without necessarily a link. If there is a link, don\u2019t click! Or they won\u2019t say anything at all and you\u2019ll find that your account is blocked on Monday morning.


          <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In a Nutshell<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          If Google calls you, it\u2019s not Google!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If Meta tells you that your page will be removed, ignore it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If you see a link, don\u2019t click it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If you want to talk to these big companies\u2026 Good luck!


          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          OK, let\u2019s get something straight here, because this comes up often, too often even. When you manage digital clients, you won\u2019t be able to avoid it, you\u2019re going to get some unwanted Google calls \u2013 but is it really Google? You may even have already had a call from a so-called Google employee who wants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-web-marketing-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}