Is This Google Message For Real?

Shayla

WOW Framer
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Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Posts
35,332
Location
Washington State
I've been getting a computerized phone message saying our Google Business Listing needs to be updated, and to press one for them to be able to check its status. It says that if I don't have them do this, our business won't show up on Google anymore. So far, I've never paid Google anything. I need to know whether this is some weird angle on a sales pitch, trying to get me to pay for higher profile visibility there, or if it means that by not calling back, we'll disappear from Google search. Hard to believe it's the latter, but haven't they been trying to force people to pay for listings or be buried in the pages?

While we're here, for any of you who have paid for optimized search listings (or whatever the right name is) on Google, how's that been for you? Thanks.
 
SEO company that got tired of you hanging up on them. By pressing 1 you will authorize them to call your phone every 3 minutes rather than just 3 times per hour.

Google "Google Business Listings" and click on the "Google" site. It has simple steps to set up your free listing. I've never paid Google or anybody else for anything web related and get new customers every week from the web. I have worked hard to keep my website only attracting locals since I don't ship anything ever.
 
99.99% a big fat scam the other 0.01% is it's a little slim scam.
 
We get these calls almost every day and we've gotten them for many months and the caller ID is from many different locations.
It's not Google calling, it's from people trolling for info.
Who owns the company, blah, blah, etc.

Then if you're told to hit #2 or whatever to be taken off the list, it just tells them that there is a human being at the other end and they will keep calling.

This along with the " your company has been selected to receive special financing, blah, blah..."
If there is a live person on the line I give them totally false info about who owns the company or I just hang up.

Often when they call I'm with a client and I tell them this and they don't care and they keep talking so I just hang up on them.
I'm considering just getting an air horn and blasting it into the phone in the future.
 
I have done many things from hanging up to having some fun, one point I would say, hang on while I go fetch tho owner, then I would play the on hold music which was this
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.

These days I really haven't got time for that.
 
If it's a real person, I ask to be taken off the call list. If they keep talking, I hang up. If it's a computer, I just hang up. I never mess around with them, because if you irritate someone enough, paybacks are heck. Several years ago, a restaurant owner in Oregon went off on a yellow pages caller, and when the book came out, his business was listed under 'animal carcass removal'. I've also heard of a telemarketer putting someone's phone number up on the wall and asking colleagues to call the number around the clock, which they did for months.
 
If you copy down the phone number (assuming you have caller ID), and Google that number, it will most likely take you to a site where people rant about it. If the number is legit, it will most likely take you to a web site.
 
Scam....They fool you by using local phone numbers.
I've gotten so fed up with the robo calls I really only answer the phone for in state calls only. A legitimate customer will leave a message.
 
Our panasonic cordless phones can be programmed to block up to 50 numbers. The 2nd call from a number on the callerID display gets added to the block list.

They've started spoofing the caller ID to be local numbers... especially the auto extended warranty callers.
 
Our panasonic cordless phones can be programmed to block up to 50 numbers.

What do you do when it hits 51?

Sorta like Shayla, if it's a real person I say "please put me on your do not call list", but I don't wait for a response, simply hang up. If it's a computer I either just hang up, or make some meaningless response such as "Ok, you want me to 'stop what I'm doing', which is listening to you, so I'll hang up now", and then hang up. Just makes me feel a bit better because who knows - maybe the call is being monitored for "training" purposes...
 
Pretty sure the oldest rolls out. I will be in trouble when that happens because that will mean my Mother's phone number will roll out of the list.

Surely you mean "mother-in-law"...

j/k, my mother-in-law was one of the sweetest people I've known.
 
It's a scam. This is why I use phonetray https://www.phonetray.com/ it's able to block any number and play any message you want to the caller, like the old disconnected tone/message http://goo.gl/2tkYy
You're also able to import and export your blocked list, the previous device I used for years didn't have that feature.

The best $30 I've ever spent.
 
Yep, probably an Indian gentleman who will guarantee you first page listing on Google if you avail yourself of his S.E.O. skills.

Waste of time and money.
 
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