Google won't let mobsters use its name to scam you
"It'd be a shame if something were to happen to your Google ranking..."
Google is taking action against scammers.
Some business owners are allegedly getting calls from "Google" -- calls that threaten to mess with their Google Search ranking unless they cough up some dough. They're not Google, of course, but scammers trying to make a quick buck.
The real Google isn't having any of it. In a blog post, the search giant says it's taking action against these types of scams.
Google singles out Point Break Media, a firm that allegedly told business owners it'd remove their listings from Google Search and Google Maps unless they paid for unwanted search optimization services. That doesn't fly with the real Google.
It's worth noting that the Point Break Media that Google calls out may be different than PointBreak Media. When we visited its website we came across the following message:
A disclaimer on PointBreak's contact page. The URL Pointbreakmedia.org doesn't resolve.
Google also says it's taking legal action against other companies, including Kydia (doing business as BeyondMenu) and Supreme Marketing Group (doing business as Small Business Solutions).
Google has also created a tool for business owners to report suspicious practices.
For more info you can read the full Google blog post here.
