Today and yesterday I have received two suspicious, scam / spam emails. I am unsure exactly how the scam works, but my Google My Business listing is being targeted. If you are also being targeted for the scam, let me know in the comments so we can share resources!
I’m a wedding photographer who has had my GMB listing in place for at least three years. It currently has 35 5-ratings, including a bunch that had just been added by my clients. Duh, it’s fully claimed and optimized to a tee, by me.
Strangely, the fraudulent ownership requests had never happened before 9/21/20. On that date, I received an email saying: [fake name] has requested access to Zoe Larkin Photography on Google My Business
It then says:
Someone has requested ownership of Zoe Larkin Photography on Google My Business.
It goes on to give the scammer bot’s name:
mac williams, Business owner
williamsmac97@gmail.com
9829194164
This was closely followed a few hours later by another email with a different name.
I believe these are legitimate emails from Google. It’s not a phishing scam in the traditional sense in which the scammer spoofs an email to trick you into clicking the link and giving away personal information.
Table of Contents
What does the suspicious email look like?
The email comes from google-my-business-noreply@google.com and looks legitimate. It does not appear to be a spoof or fake ‘phishing’ email, in which you click ‘reject’ and it immediately withdraws $1,000,000 from your bank account. (Well, they would be sorely disappointed in my case, but that’s another story). Here is what the email looks like:
What should you do when you receive an email requesting ownership access of your GMB account?
There are two ways of responding to these fraudulent requests. You can either ignore the email or deny/reject the request. Let’s go through them both.
Delete and ignore the email
The first option is the one suggested by Joy Hawkins who is a local SEO expert and owner of Sterling Sky. In this thread on the GMB help forum, she writes “simply delete the email. Do not click on the link.”.
I am sure the thinking behind this is: don’t feed the trolls. Or in this case, the scammers. It is likely they want you to click ‘reject’ (because who in their right mind would click ‘allow access’?) So, don’t engage and just get on with your day.
However, there is another school of thought that you can read more about on this GMB help thread. Apparently, according to the OP, “I have seen that after 3-7 days they can be automatically granted access”. This official Google page is where, I believe, the OP is getting that information from.
Under the section, ‘What to do after you’ve requested ownership’, it states:
If you don’t hear back: If you don’t get a response after 3-7 days, you might have the option to claim the profile yourself. Sign in to Google My Business, and look for a “Claim” or “Verify” button on your dashboard.
This, to me at least, suggests that the scammers may be trying to exploit a loophole that if the legitimate owner is non-responsive, it may be possible to move forward without their assistance.
This puts us into a bit of quandary. Should we engage with the scammer and alert them that seen their request (which could invite more), or do we delete without hitting ‘approve’ or ‘reject’?
Hit ‘Review Request’ and then reject the request
Google’s official help is in direct contrast to the ‘delete-and-move-on’ school of thought. Their email to me said the following: “We advise you to deny the request if you feel somebody who is not related to your business is trying to gain access to the business.
At the moment, I am actively denying the requests just in case if you do nothing, this gives the fake / scam account the ability to appeal or move forward without your verification.
I would suggest you deny the requests so there is no ‘loophole’ that the bot accounts can take advantage of. This way you can always prove that you did your part. Make sure you take screenshots wherever possible and save all emails.
Another thing I did which I also suggest is turning on 2-step verification on the Google account that you log into your GMB with. This sends a code to your phone before you can access anything on that account. Protect yourself and your account in any way you can.
Never give account access to anyone you don’t know.
What is the intent behind attempting to claim ownership of a GMB listing?
It looks like there are bots out there that scrape legitimate Google My Business listings and click on the ‘Request Ownership’ button that appears on every claimed GMB listing.
The scam is not entirely clear to me. I was told by the Google My Business help team that “without your consent no one would be able to access to your business listing.”. That is a direct quote from Google. However, when you hit ‘reject ownership request’, you will see the following information:
“Even if you reject this request, the person above may still be granted access to the listing if they can complete the verification process”.
That is worrying to me. What if there is a way of getting around the ‘verification process’ that completely bypasses me? I have no idea what this means.
Anyway, there is likely a market for Google My Business listings. I have a couple of theories here if you’ll indulge me. My guess is that once they have ownership of a listing, they can change the name and details of the business and sell it to someone else.
Here is a GMB thread showing that this actually happened to a business owner. Frightening stuff.
Another less nefarious option is that when you click ‘reject request’, you are telling the scammer that you actively care about your GMB profile. This might theoretically qualify you for some kind of upsell or service. It tells them that the email address that is tied to the GMB account is monitored.
I just realized there’s another reason the scam bots could be doing this. It’s entirely possible (judging by the amount of spam emails I get every single day) that they may combine a friendly ‘hey I want to do some optimization work on your GMB listing, I’ll do it for free, just accept my request so I can help you!’
Then boom! You have given away your account and you will no longer be able to access it after they remove your ownership rights.
And more importantly, once they are into that account they can potentially access your Google Ads account (with linked credit card information and the ability to run ads until you notice), and maybe even email.
I have most of that garbage filtered out automatically but even the ones that slip through the cracks are numerous (and annoying) enough. So yeah, beware of this scam running alongside someone claiming to help you, either by calling or emailing you first so it seems less random.
More details about other GMB scams are on this post from BizIQ.
Be proactive about with the ownership of your GMB
Though there are mixed messages and confusion out there, my own common sense as a 3-year+ Google My Business user is to be proactive. Don’t just delete the email and hope that that solves the problem. You must actively guard against scam artists and fraudsters that would love to take your Google My Business away from you and sell it to the highest bidder (or even hold it ransom).
Be on guard by scrutinizing emails to check they are not phishing scams. Report those that are. Tell the Google My Business team if you get these ownership requests – without knowing there is a problem, they have no hope of fixing it.
Avoid engaging with the scammers, such as by calling the phone number or emailing them. Focus more on securing your account by signing out of all sessions and changing your password to a very strong one (a string of random numbers and letters is the best, then use a secure service like LastPass to store them).
Turn on 2-factor verification. Monitor the inbox linked to your GMB and reject all requests within 3 days. At least you know you’ve done your part to protect your account. The rest is up to Google to get their act together to put a stop to the fake accounts targeting our legitimate businesses.
Keep your registered business address up-to-date. This is the address where any verification postcard will be sent. With many service-businesses being home-based, this is particularly important as your address may not be displayed on the listing so you tend to forget about it.
What is Google doing about this problem?
As usual, f* all. It appears that anyone can hit ‘claim this business’, even when it has already been claimed. This is a loophole ripe for scammers. I suggested to Google’s GMB help team that they should patch up this loophole immediately.
There is no reason why anybody should be able to ‘claim’ a business that’s already active and claimed. An unclaimed business, sure. That makes sense. But if I as a business owner wanted to share ownership with a legitimate person, that should be something I do from within my GMB dashboard. Not someone that everyone and his dog can access and bug me with 24/7.
I reported the issue to Google on 9/21/20 and they responded very quickly with the following email (text below the screenshot):
Hello Zoe,
Greetings from Google My Business Support Team.
As per your email, I understand you are concerned that someone is trying to request ownership access to your business listing “Zoe Larkin Photography“.
We apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused you. We advise you to deny the request if you feel somebody who is not related to your business is trying to gain access to the business.
Please be informed that without your consent no one would be able to access to your business listing.
If you have further questions related to this issue, simply reply to this email and we’ll be happy to help! For additional support on a different issue, you can always reach us via our Help Center [g.co/gmbhelp].
You may receive an email survey regarding your interaction with GMB Support. We value your feedback.
Have a great day!
Regards,Anushna
This is all well and good, but then it happened again just a few hours later. I had to tell Google while I had them on the line that this was just not acceptable.
“Another spammer has just ‘requested access to MY google my business’. See screenshot located here: https://prnt.sc/ulvusc Just as I feared, this is a new scam, not someone’s innocent mistake.
I and millions of other business owners have better things to do with our time than deny spammers requests. PLEASE, as a suggestion, do not have the option on any listing to ‘claim ownership of this business’ when it has already been claimed. This should only appear as an option for unclaimed businesses.
For your information, I actually WRITE about Google my Business on my website, and will certainly be sharing this problem with my thousands of readers who will be interested to hear what Google is doing to help the millions of legitimate business owners who use the GMB platform, and what you are doing to combat the ever-present plague of spam (or not as the case may be….)”
Of course, and I hope this is clear, but I am not taking it out on some lowly email center employee. Sadly there is nowhere else we can go when we need Google to step up and do something. The answer in my opinion is simple. And I am going to repeat it again here.
Remove the option to ‘claim ownership’ of a business that is already claimed! Permission should be given privately on the legitimate owner’s back-end.
Local business owners are sick of getting jerked around constantly by shady practices allowed by GMB. Spam listings are a massive problem on GMB. I have tried to shut down the fraudulent listings set up by many of my competitors, for businesses that don’t exist.
I have shown entire case-studies with proof of one person using keyword-stuffed entries to gain real estate on the map pack. GMB has been a spammer’s playground from the beginning – it is now a scammer’s playground, too.
Naming and shaming the scammers!
If you have been targeted by these accounts, let’s name and shame. I will put the names here as they appear – add yours in the comments. Hopefully if it happens to other business owners, they will Google the names and land here. Then they will find out it’s a scam and no-one else will fall for it.
mac williams, Business owner
williamsmac97@gmail.com
9829194164
Dhalia Minith, Business owner
dhlaminith@gmail.com
8233412989
Brittney H, Business owner
sweetpnkkiss@gmail.com
6904105364
Sirisha Garikipati, Employee
sirishagarikipati558@gmail.com
7659800888
Jean baptiste Monnier, Business owner
jbzh25@gmail.com
0738889490
Sherzod Mahmudov, Business owner
sherzodmah739@gmail.com
(403) 200-2608
Valda Ransom, Business owner
valda.ransomva@gmail.com
(713) 482-8560
Virgil Yancy, Business Owner
virgilyancy@gmail.com
Ronaldo Kirales, Business owner
ronaldokirales@gmail.com
(480) 443-3505
Frank Reardon, Business owner
menufy5477@gmail.com
9733373151
Paul Ramachandran, Business owner
irvinttoooa@gmail.com
8169238892
Edward Bowers, Business owner
irvinttoooa@gmail.com
7702880278
Beyond Menu
mgmb@beyondmenu.com
+1 630-776-3590
Otto Ramachandran, Business owner
coo075588@gmail.com
6781237810
Ike Sellon, Business Owner
lucyhills@sifumenus.com
8058228920
Collie Javier, Business owner
colliejavier@gmail.com
Tristen Chandler, Business owner
chandlertristen28@gmail.com
Tristen Chandler
Vately Jam
Business Owner
vatelyjam7642@gmail.com
720-869-0878
Victoria Jackson, Business owner
victoriajackson303@gmail.com
Victoria Jackson
Karen Morgan, Business owner
karenmorgan2122@gmail.com
2349137403174
Tips for GMB beginners
This post is seriously off-topic for me as a wedding photography educator. Bit I couldn’t resist posting about this as there is so much misinformation and confusion flying around right now – and there seems to be a spike in these attempts at fraudulent GMB ownership requests.
I only have one post that’s even slightly related as of now, though I hope to bring out more content about optimizing your profile. It’s about setting up your GMB – linked below!
If you’re a wedding photographer that’s landed here, feel free to have a browse around my site. I have tons of resources to help you with the business side of things. Be sure to check out my YouTube channel, too!
Zoe Larkin
I’m Zoe, a wedding photographer based in San Francisco! My style is candid, capturing authentic moments for my couples all over the Bay Area and Northern California. Creating content is my passion! Follow along the blog and Insta!
Zoe, I’m getting the same emails. I’ve been rejecting them as I get them. It’s very frustrating and troublesome. I was planning to contact Google in my spare time, but your post says it all. Why in the world would Google allow someone to ask for Ownership, I’ll never know, except the CCP owns the world and everything in it…so why not ask for ownership…right? 🙂
Thanks so much Earl – haha! A couple of things – if you can, DO contact them. It only took me 5 minutes and I did it on my phone one night. It’s worth taking the time so they at least know – and if anything untoward happens, there’ll be a paper trail so you know you did your part (and we’ll all file a class action lawsuit haha).
Secondly, I received a reply by the time I woke up the next day so at least someone is reading these messages!
I was reassured that nobody can go over your head and gain ownership, but I still remember that sick pit in my stomach when I started seeing these requests.
Luckily, I only ever got two – they stopped after that!
I will reach out to Google. I have received at least 4 of these requests over the past two months. Like you, I’m busy with my own business. If this continues or does not get resolved, I may consider deleting my Google account altogether. I do not have any other social media accounts, at this stage, due similar and weird emails over time. I was a very early adopter of SM 15 plus years ago – the idea of creating a SM foot print seemed worthwhile. In the end, my SM world was only a waste of time, let alone a serious distraction from my own creativity as an architect. People may think otherwise, but I have lived the SM life. I choose to enjoy people in real life and not in a virtual world. Age, together with the wisdom you gain, does this to you. 🙂
It’s funny you mention this because I feel like I’m nearing the same point. Currently I’m feverishly trying to grow a YouTube channel now that weddings have all but ceased. However, oftentimes that all seems like such a treadmill. I’ve pretty much ditched Instagram in the past few weeks, and Pinterest is now cutting my reach by two thirds and dropping daily. I don’t think I’m quite there yet but the way things are going I think that many of us, me included, will completely stop with all this BS and see it for what it is – a distraction from life and spirituality. Good for you deleting your Google account! I’ve often dreamed of such things….
I like your thinking. I did enjoy your introductory video on your website. You are a talented photographer! I can imagine the impact COVID has had your business. Ugh. For some reason, mine is through the roof. People are staying home and wanting to change their houses. Commercial architect is also crazy right now.
Thank you!
You definitely chose the right area to specialize in! The small business world has been split those that are folding /seriously struggling diversifying like crazy, and those that are booming during the pandemic it seems!
Hi Zoe, Thanks so much for this post! It is the first thing I came across when trying to figure out why some random person/bot was trying to gain access to my business. Here is the scammer info:
Brittney H, Business owner
sweetpnkkiss@gmail.com
6904105364
Thanks so much Summi! I added the scammer info to the main post – hopefully if they use the same details to target someone else, that person will Google it and find the info you kindly submitted 😉
Hi Zoe, Thank you so much and your post helps us a lot on GMB spam! I just came across when trying to figure out why some random person/bot was trying to gain access to my business. Below is the scammer info:
Sirisha Garikipati, Employee
sirishagarikipati558@gmail.com
7659800888
Thanks, added to the post. So, this account that tried to gain access – they used practically the same/ very similar name to your own first name? I wonder if that is a coincidence?
Just got one today, here’s the info:
Jean baptiste Monnier, Business owner
jbzh25@gmail.com
0738889490
Awesome, thanks Lee for taking the time to share!
Added to the main post.
I’ve no idea if this is helping but in my mind at least, it will help when people Google the names/ emails of these spammers!
Hi Zoe , your info on this problem is the best I have found. My main concern or worry is clicking on anything in these emails. They look official from Google. Any suggestions ? My first step is to try to get Google on the phone … Thanks John Walker
Thanks John. As the scammers are just taking advantage of a loophole where anyone can ‘claim ownership’ instead of it being unavailable from the public side once the listing is claimed. Google’s help by messaging them however, is fast!
Oh here is my scammer.
Sherzod Mahmudov, Business owner
sherzodmah739@gmail.com
(403) 200-2608
Zoe, thank you again. I logged in to my gmail account I got these requests from and denied the request… Thank you again. Your post here is the BEST i have found on this issue. Best Wishes , John Walker
Thanks! If you do want to cause a stink about it, raise it with Google. It’s easy to message them following the ‘help’ links when logged in to your account on your GMB. This way, they may actually do something about this obvious loophole which is currently being exploited by unscrupulous people! Thanks for reading!
Thanks Zoe! Great article. I just received the scam email today and rejected it. You saved me! All the best! Michael T.
Thanks Michael. Glad it was helpful!
Another thought that may help, take a look at using virtual credit card numbers. Many of the large banks and credit card companies offer them. I rarely use my debit card number these days. The company I use allows me to mask my debit card and lock a CC number in to one merchant only and also set spending limits. This helps add another layer of security if someone does access your CC info on GMB. Hope this helps someone else!
All the best!
Just got this one this morning:
Valda Ransom, Business owner
valda.ransomva@gmail.com
(713) 482-8560
Morning!
Thank you for the insights on this requesting ownership HOT MESS!
Virgil Yancy, Business Owner
virgilyancy@gmail.com
Photographer
Thanks Angela, added. Interesting to see it’s happening to another photographer as well! I really wonder how the scammers are targeting GMB users. Have a good one.
We got this same email today from:
Lou Potter, Business owner
potterluiz4@gmail.com
202-555-0158
At first, I thought it was because we had recently moved our studio and someone moving into the old location wanted to claim the address. Then I checked the phone number and found it associated with robocalls. After searching and seeing the response from Google you noted above, I eventually ended up here. Thank you so much for all the work you did on this. We will enable two-factor verification now and deny any future requests from scoundrels.
Hello, we are another business that received a fraudulent request from:
Ronaldo Kirales, Business owner
ronaldokirales@gmail.com
(480) 443-3505
Thank you so much! Added to the main article. Thanks for sending this in.
Hello same problem here, been dealing for 2 months – companies Qmenu and BeyondMenu are taking advantage of the good nature of local restaurants in Las Vegas and probably everywhere in the US. They send the request, then even after you reject it they have some kind of way to go around verification process – they take it away from you and mark the real GMB as duplicate – Google was 0 HELP
Frank Reardon, Business owner
menufy5477@gmail.com
9733373151
Paul Ramachandran, Business owner
irvinttoooa@gmail.com
8169238892
Edward Bowers, Business owner
irvinttoooa@gmail.com
7702880278
Beyond Menu
mgmb@beyondmenu.com
+1 630-776-3590
Otto Ramachandran, Business owner
coo075588@gmail.com
6781237810
Ike Sellon, Business Owner
lucyhills@sifumenus.com
8058228920
Hi Kenny, thanks for this. This is bizarre! And really worrying. Apart from continuing to reject the requests and contacting Google to see if you can catch the attention of someone that understands and cares enough to help, I don’t know what else to suggest. It’s even worse that actual companies that you mention are possibly involved. I’m curious to know how they go around the verification process, but then again, scammers may be using this blog post as information so I also wouldn’t want to say/ hear too much about it, in case it comes off as a suggestion!
Another scammer, the first I’ve been sent.
Here’s hoping posting It’s name here will bring something to light.
Collie Javier, Business owner
colliejavier@gmail.com
I too have gotten these requests since 9/12/20, 12 of them! I was on maternity leave for my company too, so it very easily could have missed one but luckly I checked in on time. So frustrating, I’ll send Google an email as well.
Yeah it’s been crazy! Hopefully they will stop soon, but until Google removes the loophole, there is little we can do except pray.
Vately Jam
Business Owner
vatelyjam7642@gmail.CIM
720-869-0878
Thanks Juan.
Yes been getting same thing and denying the request. Now i got a request an hour ago go to click on it to deny it and the person now owns my listing. Freaking crazy. What to do?
Oh no! You’ll have to contact Google directly through the GMB web page (there is help available) and appeal it. They should be able to see that you’re the original owner, by checking out your email address and seeing what’s been going on with the data they have. Unreal! Wish you the best trying to get it back. Google was very responsive when I reached out.
Grrr. Like small biz owners have so much spare time to deal with this stuff… Thanks for the detailed info on how you’ve handled! Here is the name of our most recent scammer:
Tristen Chandler, Business owner
chandlertristen28@gmail.com
Tristen Chandler
Yeah it sucks big time. Hope this helps a few people in a similar position.
Thanks for the article – all great info. Here’s another one:
Victoria Jackson, Business owner
victoriajackson303@gmail.com
Victoria Jackson
This is the one I received today. It’s my first email like this.
Karen Morgan, Business owner
karenmorgan2122@gmail.com
2349137403174
I appreciate the detailed article.
Thanks, you’re so welcome!
Happened to me too…infuriating!
DONNELL DENNY, Business owner
donnelldenny@gmail.com
DONNELL DENNY
Thanks for the info! Your feedback is now live, so others searching will be able to find it.
I just got this email 2 hrs ago ! I have also been here for 3 years ! It’s is so frustrating to wake up to this!
His name is
Braylon Ramon
Braylonramon5@gmail.com
Business owner
Thanks for sharing. I know it’s super frustrating to get these scary notices that your GMB listing is about to be taken over by someone else, and you’re no idea what’s going on. Hopefully Google starts to do something about the loophole which gives many legitimate business owners heart attacks daily.
Unfortunately, I just got this scammer email as well:
Tony Smith, Business owner
ellliemms@gmail.com
202-555-0142
Thanks for sharing it here, Brian
Just happened to me.
Irina Katz, Business owner
irinapaulita@gmail.com
8998263000
Thanks, Jessica
Irina Katz, Business owner
irinapaulita@gmail.com
0227323720
March 12, 2021 at 4:08 am Central
I just received this thank you for your help!!
Scammer trying to claim my business:
Jovanni Samir, Business owner
jovannisamir731@gmail.com
512-967-3546
You’re welcome, thanks for sharing so others can come across this if they get targeted by GMB scammers!
Glad I found your article. Just started getting these this week. Here is the scammers info:
BROCK SANFORD, Business owner
brocksanford36@gmail.com
BROCK SANFORD
Thanks, Frank!
We got an email from Google that Brock Sanford was requesting ownership of our page. We deleted the email and did not respond to the request because the email address did not display like Google’s usual no reply account so we assumed it was a phishing attempt. Now our page and all of our content is completely deleted and Google is not assisting. Does anyone have any experience locating and reclaiming their page back?
Ben Lorek, Business owner
lorekb818@gmail.com
202-555-0186
Here is another name for the scam list. Got one on 3/19/21 and a second on 3/24/21
Vera Veraed, Business owner
veraedrft20166@gmail.com
Vera Veraed
Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the article! I received 2 of these scams this week. Add these to the scam list:
Leslie Danielle, Business owner
lesliedanielle80@gmail.com
Leslie Danielle
Gretchen Chaya, Business owner
gretchenchaya885@gmail.com
Gretchen Chaya
Wow, two, that’s pretty bad! I received a couple of them myself, wrote this article, and then didn’t receive any more ownership requests. Weird! Pretty sure it’s just a bot going around and scraping everyone’s info. : (
Someone has requested ownership of…
madison luna, Business owner madisonluna636373999@gmail.com
202-555-0148
Thanks! Dear oh dear, so obviously a spammy looking email, they haven’t even bothered to try to make it look legit lol =)
Really appreciate your article and thank you for your help! These shady scammers are too much…
Ara Gates, Business owner
gatesara204@gmail.com
2738409468
Thanks for sharing! Just received one today, scammer email and contact as below:
Mell Yanto
Yantomell26@gmail.com
081373145629
Thank you for letting us know!
Here is my scammer’s “name”, email, and phone number.
Da Niel, Employee
zenius943@gmail.com
+37069118110
Thank you!
Just got the same thing, My scammer is: Meli Neli, Business owner melineli49@gmail.com Thanks for having this thread !
You are so welcome – thank you for contributing your scammer name to the pile so others can Google and find them!
Add another one to the list this morning:
Enrique Donald, Business owner
nrqdnld@gmail.com
Enrique Donald
Aditya Singh, Business owner
adityakumar7739223909801505@gmail.com
7739223909
Thanks!
Theron Newsom, Business owner
theronnewsom@gmail.com
(212) 200-8541
tried it at my listing.
Nicolas
I actually believe it’s my competition trying to get rid of the listing, using a fake name.
Oh man. That’s just sad! Thank you for sharing your scammer.
Yep. Same thing. Visual artist in Houston TX. Thanks for this article.
Scammer: Andrea Adam
adamandrea49@gmail.com
I just received the same email. I am a public speaking and communication learning center in Houston, Texas, Self-Expression Center . Thanks for your efforts! It seems like they are hitting creatives!
The scammers email address is MARIANO DANIAL, Business owner
danialmariano227@gmail.com
MARIANO DANIAL
Thanks for the heads up!
Hello there — I’ve been getting these myself, but did not click the link in the email. Now I received the third email which warns this:
Ninnetta Urtz, Business owner
ninnettaurtzmar@gmail.com
(972) 230-6541
“Ninnetta Urtz will now be allowed to verify their affiliation with the business to gain access.”
What I don’t understand, though, is, wouldn’t they still need to get that postcard in the mail? I already verified my address long ago, and I see in my account that a “Verification post card has been requested within the past 14 days” .. But I presume they’ll just send that card to my address? Or are they that stupid to allow someone to just enter a new address? Is there a way for me to see what address this card is reportedly requested to be sent to? As of right now I can still access my GMB but am a bit worried because I didn’t click the button on (what I thought was) a spammy-looking email. (Btw, thanks for your advocacy on this!)
Oh boy, that’s really scary. It kind of looks like it could be spam – because there is no way they should be able to verify with a postcard if they haven’t even claimed ownership yet.
It would be really messed up if there was a way a scammer could bypass the original address that was first verified, and have a postcard sent to a secondary address that the primary owner hasn’t added or approved themselves?
But I wonder if this in fact is possible because, alas, businesses do move premises and there may not always be time or foresight to change the address on record before the move is complete. I would just ask the GMB team for help by going to the support page – they were extremely responsive to me (though this was many months ago). Try it.
I am just starting to work freelance online. And there this guy from india offering me a simple quick job but he needed to check my business google account first. Being a newbie, I thought it was a something real, and the check was necessary. But, I think this is what he was doing. He’s tricking me to spam the owner of the business so idk what he intended, he was using my google account . he was so quick, im not sure if hes request access or not of the business but yeah that is what happening. So even if the person who requested it seems genuine, he or she might not intended to do it and someone else.
I got my first one today. Thank you for writing about it – I didn’t know what to do. I rejected it and hope I don’t get many more. What a waste of time!
tayfun ışık, Business owner
tayfunk50@gmail.com
208-555-0110
Hi Zoe, thanks for this info. I just had a message from GMB and denied access. I too was worried about the message that they could still get access even if I denied it. You’re right, small business owners are busy enough without having to deal with this. Here is the scammer:
Temoe Rahardja, Business Owner
rtemmu@gmail.com 225-555-0177
Happens to me too. Hope you can stir up GMB to do something about it. Here is one.
Requester
Heidi Jett
Heidi Jett, Business owner
jettheidi6@gmail.com
Heidi Jett
Thanks for the info.
Here is the scammer for my listings. They requested access to 2 of my businesses. Denied them both
Quentin Morgan, Business owner
quentinmorgan647@gmail.com
Good – always just deny them whenever you get them!
The scammer that reached out to me was:
Badmasi Saytani, Business owner
bsaytani@gmail.com
202-555-0196
This Guy is sending an email to get access to my GMB. Google Notified every email. Interesting fact:My first name matched with the scammer fName.
MD: AMINUR ISLAM, MD: AMINUR ISLAM
donshowkat95@gmail.com
01705129531
The following guy tried to get access to my GMB. Google notified each attempt. I did not respond either. Hard Fact is scammer first name similar to Mine.
MD: AMINUR ISLAM, MD: AMINUR ISLAM
donshowkat95@gmail.com
01705129531
Thank you for this article. Here is the scammer who requested ownership of my law firm business (I rejected the request thanks to your article):
Jude Wesley judewesley61@gmail.com
Hello
this scammer has requested an access to my business, i see he has done same thing to a law firm above
Jude Wesley judewesley61@gmail.com
James Rico, Business owner
plebangbas58@gmail.com
302-555-0199
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I get 2-3 requests per month. Don’t know why GOOGLE is not doing anything about it…. This is the bot account that tried last time
Mariana Sabrina, Business owner
marianasabrina40@gmail.com
Mariana Sabrina
My company owns over 60 locations so I receive these daily. I’m so frustrated and tired of rejecting them. Wish google could make this go away. Here are three I received overnight – there are too many to post them all:
Lainey Skylar, Business owner
skylarlainey78@gmail.com
Lainey Skylar
Sophia Sophiahn, Business owner
sophiahnghyt20155@gmail.com
Sophia Sophiahn
Chase Steven Timothy, Business owner
steventimothychase@gmail.com
Chase Steven Timothy
Oh wow, that’s insane. I’m disappointed to hear they’re still coming in thick and fast – I’ve received many comments from others even more recently.
Perhaps Google will see this post and actually do something about it, but I have a feeling they can just do whatever they want and screw the little guy.
Aspen Nash
spnnash@gmail.com
Hey Zoe,
I have the similar problem popping up. However, in my case its the same person (scammer). I am not sure whether or not I should reject the request but I got great insights from your post here today.
As of now I have decided to not at all entertain the email. I think I will keep my GMB updated and that way Google might for a change consider my account highly active and prevent anyone else invade it.
This is the first I’ve received, but I rejected it.
Emmalyn Nickolas, Business owner
nemmalyn34@gmail.com
Emmalyn Nickolas
Received on Oct 24 at 3AM:
Emmalyn Nickolas, Business owner
nemmalyn34@gmail.com
Emmalyn Nickolas
Great page Zoe! Howdy from Houston!
Thank you for the information. Google truly sucks now. They used to be so great- its too bad. Here is the scammer’s email. Let karma prevail and I hope you have many weddings to photograph. Big hugs!
Recieved Oct. 26th 2021
Aron Luciano, Business owner
aronluciano628@gmail.com
Aron Luciano
Hi Zoe. Thank you for this post! I’ve gotten requests from two people for my business name AND my name!
First was Allison Jack, allisonjack791@gmail.com – Received on 10/24/21
Second is Ryker Isla, rykerisla@gmail.com – Received on 10/26/21
Thank you for this content I received this same request at around 1 am, someone asking for ownership of my business. Needless to say I didn’t have to think about it and rejected it automatically, I have just finished dealing with someone trying to hack my merchant account so I am all about being proactive and fighting this head on, thank you once again and here is the scammers email
Avalynn Houston, business owner
avalynnhouston369@gmail.com
Zoe thanks for putting this page up! I was starting to freak out – I received the first request yesterday and rejected it giving the “person” the benefit of the doubt. But then I received another one today from someone else. Grrrrrr…I lost sleep over this lol…Well now I know it’s a stupid rampant scam and will just keep rejecting them. I can’t be blamed for “doing nothing” to prevent theft of my business listing at least! Thanks again!
You’re welcome! Happy it helped
Great post! We’ve had these requests too for our Google page. Why don’t you send this info to a news channel? Maybe if we got this on a large network news channel that might get Google’s attention.
This is what happens when people have nothing better to do and don’t work, stay at home collecting mailbox money while others work at their business. I just started receiving these last week. Have only had two so far, but all of a sudden came out of nowhere. And Google is no help at all. Thank you for posting this blog. It has been a huge help!
Thanks, glad it helped!
Got a request from –
leo david, Business owner
leodavv3@gmail.com
346-406-5246
for a client’s business. Looked up this name and phone number and it did not come back to anyone. It was not a spoof, it was really from Google, but when I looked in my GMB settings it did not indicate there was a real request under the Users section.
So odd! Thank you for sharing that info which could be useful for others – seems people are still having this issue
November 18, 2021 2:12 AM
Received another one and new name:
Kyan Joshua, Business owner
kyan412joshua@gmail.com
Kyan Joshua
Hi Zoe. I just got this request a few days ago and was wondering the same thing as everyone else was. You keep a list and maybe this list will somehow be useful? Maybe Google will use it? I don’t know but this is so BS that Google allows this to happen. Here is the email account trying to claim my business.
Prince Deli, Business owner
princedeli185@gmail.com
Zoe, I’m getting the same emails. I’ve been rejecting them as I get them. It’s very frustrating and troublesome.
I do SEO for a food delivery company. There is another reason I guess these scammers are claiming this business:
I often received requests inbox to deliver food to clients (they pass through Google to contact us). So, if these scammers succeed in claiming these business they would be receiving money from clients pretending to be business owners and yet we don’t do so! We always advise our clients to download and use our app. We don’t receive cash!
I have had 16 requests for ownership of my pages. I manager 10 locations and they are continuous. Fortunately I have been able to see them in time. They are getting smarter. Doing it at midnight right before a holiday weekend so the three days grace is up before coming back to work on Monday. I was NOT happy. I complained to GMB that they needed to give us at least 7 days if not 30 days to ACCEPT or DENY. What if someone is out sick or vacation? They said thanks for the suggestion. Policies need to change. I have had 2 today. These people have NOTHING better to do.
I have had 16 requests for ownership of my pages. I manager 10 locations and they are continuous. Fortunately I have been able to see them in time. They are getting smarter. Doing it at midnight right before a holiday weekend so the three days grace is up before coming back to work on Monday. I was NOT happy. I complained to GMB that they needed to give us at least 7 days if not 30 days to ACCEPT or DENY. What if someone is out sick or vacation? Policies need to change. I have had 2 today. These people have NOTHING better to do.
Got one this morning. It came from Timothy Steven with email address Timothysteven347@gmail.com. I rejected it and emailed him to see what was us. (I know, probably a mistake.). No answer from Google or the scammer 4 hours later. Jeez!
Thank you for the post, you can’t put a value on this level of first hand experience and detail.
Brayden Dominic, Business owner
braydendominic23@gmail.com
Brayden Dominic
Received this morning, and rejected.
This lady named Ann Paul she is asking for the password for my Google account saying she wants it so that my account and her account won’t get hacked I’m not going to give her the password to my Google account cuz then she can see all the personal emails I’ve been sending to people.
So I have been getting the same email and it does look like it is legitimate and from Google but of course it is still a little scary clicking, even to reject.
I think Google has the option to request ownership in case someone who shouldnt claim your business does before you get a chance to get started with Google business listing.
When Google says they still might be able to get ownership if they can verify, I am sure it means they would need to get into your whole Google account, then they can do whatever they want. SO as long as you have a good password and 2 factor authentication, they “shouldnt” be able to take control?
I wish Google business had an area where you can check the request yourself instead of going through the email but I have not found it if there is one.
Thanks fot the info.
Yes, completely agree! 2 FA is a good one
Hi there
Same problems i have but i gave my business to them by mistake I thought it is google support. So I right for support 4 times but no response my business was taken and edit the location and inf but the photo and reviews still there. What should i do.
Is it possible to recover it.
March 22, 2022 at 7:43:02 AM EDT
Name: Ferjani Sassi, Business Owner
Phone number: Ferjani Sassi
Email: sassiferjani438@gmail.com
I have also gotten so many requests over the last year. Very annoying. I will start writing google about this as well. Thank you for writing about this. Here is a list of scammers:
Name: Grayson Leo, Business Owner
Phone number: Grayson Leo
Email: gleo02416@gmail.com
Name: Sofia Andro, Business Owner
Phone number: Sofia Andro
Email: sofiaandro92@gmail.com
Mark Camden, Business owner
markcamden44@gmail.com
Mark Camden
Aubrie Beckett, Business owner
beckettaubrie436@gmail.com
Aubrie Beckett
Kianna Shaylee, Business owner
kiannashaylee41@gmail.com
Kianna Shaylee
If it can help others, then the effort is worth it.
Please do. I have no idea what it will take, but I keep getting people who’ve been targeted adding their scammers’ names to the mix here. Any time there is a loophole, scammers will exploit it.
Name: Jennifer Robert, Business Owner
Phone number: Jennifer Robert
Email: jr3859896@gmail.com
Name: Lucille Andre, Business Owner
Phone number: Lucille Andre
Email: andrelucille83@gmail.com
Name: Karuppaiya Srinivasan, Employee
Phone number: 8675552383
Email: karuppaiya48@gmail.com
Great article. Thank you! Same issue for us.
Name: Steven Kevin, Business Owner
Phone number: Steven Kevin
Email: stevenkevin22147@gmail.com
Name: Demarcus Estevan, Business Owner
Phone number: Demarcus
Email: estevandemarcus659@gmail.com
UGGH – never realized until yesterday that this was a thing. Now have gotten two in a row (yesterday and today). For now, denying, but it won’t take long before I just start deleting them… but will take your advice and do an online google support contact, capture the paper trail of “thanks but really can’t help you,” and wait for the class-action suit to claim some remuneration for this time suck that I do not need!! My first encounters:
Name: Exell Kain, Business Owner
Phone number: (915) 996-9739
Email: axelle0208@gmail.com
Name: Annie Cooper, Business Owner
Phone number: 915) 996-9739
Email: anniecooperkgftes@gmail.com
Thanks for the helpful post!
I agree with you that it’s ridiculous google even has this option.
Name: Kaliyah Reese, Business Owner
Phone number: Kaliyah Reese
Email: reese0606kaliyah@gmail.com
Hi Zoe. This just happened to me. I googled it and your helpful post showed up. Thank you! 2 years later and google hasn’t done anything about this.
Super annoyed that two years after your writing this—literally nothing has still been done about it. I have been filtering out and denying for years. Everything you wrote above is absolutely 💯💯💯.
I do notice that the one right above me is also a “Reese” last name. Not sure what that means really, just interestingly coincidental. I am in the Houston area and got this one this morning. At any rate, thanks for writing this post.
Timothy Reese
Timothyreese607@gmail.com
I just got the same for my drone photography business page. I denied it
Details:
Name: Norah Amaya, Business Owner
Phone number: Norah Amaya
Email: anorah957@gmail.com
I was just asked to grant access to a random name Sylas A Soren and email, ssylasa@gmail.com. Absolutely unacceptable.
My scammer today is:
Name: Leo Aiden, Business Owner
Phone number: Leo Aiden
Email: leoaiden1365@gmail.com
My theory as to why GMB allows this is for the situation where the business owner has passed away. It seems like there would be a better way to deal with that situation, if my theory is correct.
This is my first one and I hope it’s my last!
Name: Kash Douglas, Business Owner
Phone number: Kash Douglas
Email: kashdouglas452@gmail.com
I have received four requests within the last week (one person requested on two separate occasions). The last three requests have been one each of the last three nights. Never was an issue before this last Saturday, it is now almost a nightly occurrence. What gives? Last four years had no problem!
Name: Leila Bradley, Business Owner
Phone number: Leila Bradley
Email: bradleyleila84@gmail.com
This person requested ownership on two different occasions:
Name: Peter Forest, Business Owner
Phone number: Peter Forest
Email: pforest212@gmail.com
Name: Bianca Milan, Business Owner
Phone number: Bianca Milan
Email: bm7368826@gmail.com
My case sounds crazy, I was trying to add a business on Google map (my niece’s new business), then i accidentally promoted myself as a primary owner of a famous coffee shop in my city… Now I’m trying to find way to remove myself from that business profile. Hope you can help me, I can’t find any useful guidance on Google. I really don’t want my name and my email listed in any list of scammers 😂
Received and denied a request to own my gmb for Tree of Life Acupuncture Nola. I ignored the first request email since it obviously was spuriousbut had to do something after I got the “respond in two days or they are owners by default “.
I appreciate finding this page, Ms Larkin, reading which helped me to get an idea of the right action to carry out. For a minute, it seemed the request email itself could be a scam!
The requester’s info:
Name: Ellie Grayson, Business Owner
Phone number: Ellie Grayson
Email: eg9464861@gmail.com
Thank you for your article. Dismayed that you wrote it in 2020 and nothing has changed.
Name: vasin khanna, Employee
Phone number: 7093417262
Email address: vasin.thehangersantique@gmail.com
I have been targeted by the ” your website is not following guidelines” scam ” you need to edit your website. My Google website has been disabled. It now leads to a 404 code. I have been in contact with Google to inform them of the issue as well as providing screen shots. The write me back saying everything is working fine. No it is not I have had friends from different areas and states click on my website and they all say the same 404 error code.
Thank you for your article. Hopefully the request I have is the last one…
Name: Yamashita Nukanobu, Business Owner
Phone number: 5756435
Email: nukanobuyamashita844@gmail.com
Thank you for addressing this important issue! Dealing with persistent scammers requesting access to our Google My Business account has been a headache. Your suggestions on tightening security measures, reporting suspicious activity, and educating team members are invaluable in safeguarding our online presence. Much appreciated!
Thank you for this post, it was the first hit on google when I searched the name “ Yamashita Nukanobu” who just requested ownership transfer of our GMB account. Looks like they change names based on the business, as we have a Japanese restaurant. Denied, will let you all know if it happens again!
nukanobuyamashita844@gmail.com Is the email they used. Let’s keep this high on google search and hope other small business owners take a money to look the requesting names up on google.
I manage client Google Business Listings and we get a ton of spam/phishing scams as well, particularly from (nukanobuyamashita844@gmail.com)! We reject their requests every single time, but it is still a nuisance, and is something that we have to communicate to the Clients often, on the off chance that someone else on their team hastily approves it by mistake. Unfortunately, as of today (05/30/2024) there is still no good option offered by Google to fight against these spam requests.
Yamashita Nukanobu
nukanobuyamashita844@gmail.com
That’s the contact info from someone who tried to claim ownership for two of my businesses on the same day. And the emails came in the middle of the night, maybe hoping to go unnoticed.
Thanks for the resource you provided here. I denied both requests!
It’s great that you’re shedding light on this issue. I’ve received similar suspicious emails targeting my GMB listing too. It’s crucial to stay vigilant and deny any unauthorized access requests. Your advice on enabling 2-step verification is spot-on—extra layers of protection are always a good idea to prevent potential breaches.