The Internet and free tools like Google Search, Maps, and YouTube help small businesses establish an online presence, connect with customers, and grow their business. Unfortunately, scammers often try to game the system by creating fake reviews and listings to make money, to the detriment of businesses and consumers. Today the internet giant filed a consumer protection lawsuit to put an end to these attempts at manipulation.
Google wants to protect users
The internet giant's lawsuit targets a malicious actor who conducted a coordinated campaign to deceive consumers and business owners. He had fraudulently attempted to manipulate Google's small business services. As the lawsuit shows, this user posted more than 350 fraudulent business profiles and attempted to back them up with more than 14,000 fake reviews. He then attempted to sell information to consumers lured by these false claims. Not only was this fraudulent content discovered and removed, but proactive legal action was taken to prevent the user from migrating to other platforms and finding additional victims there.
Customers trust that the group delivers reliable results. However, this trust is lost when they spend money based on fake reviews. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cited a survey in which consumers reported spending an average of $125 per year based on fake reviews.
Man and machine
Google tries to stay one step ahead of fraudsters and protect small businesses by monitoring its products for fraudulent content around the clock using a combination of people and technology. In 2022, more than 185,000 companies were protected from further abuse after suspicious activity and attempted abuse were uncovered. In addition, 20 million attempts to create fake company profiles were averted in 2022. We continue to invest in new technologies and processes to ensure the information in Google products is useful and reliable.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an independent federal agency that also protects consumer interests, and other regulators are committed to holding accountable bad actors who deceive consumers with fake reviews and misleading claims. Google works closely with the FTC to crack down on fake reviews and other fraudulent recommendations worldwide. Going forward, we will continue to proactively litigate and invest in technologies that ensure the information on Google's platforms is reliable.
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