Phone Scam: Did you receive a Robo-call with a recording saying You have not updated your listing with Google

Email and Online Scams -

Have You Received a Scam Phone Call?
412-943-0089, claiming "You have not updated your listing with Google"

Did you receive a robocall from 412-943-0089, claiming "You have not updated your listing with Google"? Did they then instruct you "to verify your listing, press 1" or something similar?

Well, don't fall for it.  It is a scam, and if you call them back or follow their instructions you will lose money and possibly your identity! Google does NOT call anyone and ask them to validate their listing. This is a scam, pure and simple.

1. Report received, October 12, 2018:

   Sent: Friday, October 12, 2018.

   A robocaller from 412-943-0089, identified as "Google" with a recorded female voice  said "Our records show, you have not updated your listing with Google. To verify your listing, press 1 or press 9 to be removed from the list. Again, press 1 to validate your Google listing."

This is what Google says about how to identify legitimate calls from Google

On the Google website, it says:

There are a few circumstances where you may receive a call from someone who claims to be from Google. Here's how to identify whether it's a real call from Google or from a possible scammer:
Google does not make unsolicited sales calls from an automated system. However, we may place automated phone calls to your business, as a service to Google users, for non-sales tasks like making reservations or confirming your business hours. These calls are only enabled for businesses that offer public phone numbers for the purpose of receiving calls from the general public, and use the automated voice-calling service Duplex.
Google will make automated calls from a set of designated numbers. For example, in the US, calls from 650-203-0000 will be from Google. If businesses don't want to accept these calls, they can opt-out by simply saying so on the call. Businesses will also be able to opt-out of reservations or bookings made using Google Duplex.
You may receive calls from Google operators for the purposes of development, customer service, or support related to your Google Ads, Google Play or other Google accounts. However, Google will never ask you for payment information over the phone or guarantee you favorable placement in our products.

What to do about it

1. Simply hang up - and do not press a key to be removed from their list.  They won't remove you, it proves your number is active.  They may just sell your number to other scammers.
2. Submit a complaint: You can report the call by submitting a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
   To file a formal complaint, go to www.donotcall.gov  or call 1-888-382-1222.
   You can also submit a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission.
3. Prevent Future Calls:
   Most c ell phones have a function to block a number built in. There are now free phone apps that help to intercept calls that are know to be coming from scammers.  One that we have found to be very effective is TrueCaller. It displays any known information about callers as the calls come in, and alerts you about calls coming from numbers that others have reported to be scams.
4. Report it to Google:
   Use this Google form and include the following information:
   The caller's company and contact information.
   Any emails or documentation received from the caller as part of a follow-up.
   Any additional information about the call.

See these pages for guidance about other harassing calls:

• If you are certain you don't owe a debt: What to do about harassing phone calls
• If you may owe a debt: Debt collection phone calls - what they may do, what the may not do and how to stop them
• If you are being harassed by the collector: file a compliant against a debt collector with the FTC - Use this form to submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection about a particular company or organization..
• How to stop telemarketers

Related Scams

There are a number of common telephone scams, such as:

• Collect Call scams
• Inmate collect call scams
• Phone service is about to be cut off
• Telemarketers

and some new and as yet, uncommon scams.

 

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.