GMB illegal edits to phone numbers

[KarenJames]

A client in the skip hire sector contacted me to say that someone is submitting edits to multiple competitors' GMB accounts changing the phone numbers to theirs. It has caused a huge row and legal ruckus as the competitors naturally assume it is them diverting calls. It definitely is not them but could be lead generation companies they use or other competitors trying to discredit them. They are growing fast and are upsetting longstanding players. Has anyone come across this before? If so how did you handle it and is there any chance of Google listening to them and assisting in the situation. Any advice is gratefully received. PS these guys are very ethical and are mortified at the situation they find themselves in.

[MiriamEllis]

Karen, thank you for letting me know you reported to Google directly and have seen no action. Here are your options at this point:

1. I still recommend reporting to the GMB forum and pleading for a volunteer expert to help you, providing all the relevant details.
2. Find out who is editing your phone number (see: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/gmb-listing-updates/) and consult a lawyer to help you contact the responsible party.
3. Hire a good spam fighting consultant to see if they can escalate/resolve for you. Moz recommends Joy Hawkins' team, Sterling Sky, for work like this.
4. Go to the press with the issue and see if you can raise enough of a ruckus to get Google to act. Often, they will act when things go public.

I hope one or more of these methods will work for you in this extremely difficult situation. Please, let me know if you have any further questions. I'm so sorry for what you're experiencing.

[KarenJames]

@miriamellis thank you for your response. We have contacted Google directly but they did not seem bothered and have taken no action.

[MiriamEllis]

@karenjames I'm so sorry to hear about this. This is, unfortunately, a well-documented form of listing spam known as hijacking. Please, report the situation in the Google My Business community forum here: https://support.google.com/business/community?hl=en

You'll need to be willing to share the details of the businesses in question. If you can't do so, you'll need to try to contact Google support directly with documentation of what is happening, but be advised that response times have become very slow during the pandemic. Use this free local SEO cheat sheet to explore your contact options: https://moz.com/blog/local-seo-cheat-sheet

Your best bet is likely to bring this to the forum, and hope a volunteer will take notice and help you.