Updated October 10, 2017 By Susan Stern, and Allison Schwartz, Contributor – Stern PR Marketing Omaha

(OMAHA, Nebraska) –  Small Business Owners Beware. If you receive an “extremely urgent” robocall “to update your Google business or Maps listing” asking you to press a key to speak to a live local “Google” sales rep – hang up.

Don’t be fooled. It’s not Google, it’s an impostor up to no good:

“many unscrupulous individuals and companies make these calls, even though they are breaking the law. Sometimes, robocalls falsely claim to be working “with Google” or “for Google” in an attempt to sell different schemes and online marketing services to unsuspecting individuals and companies,” states Google’s Safety Center.

Background : A mobile robocall or text is illegal, and likely a scam – if you never gave prior clear consent by verbal recording, written, electronically (text or phone keypress) or digitally (by email or website form). Identifying scammers is often impossible. Many hide their tracks by faking the caller ID, buy internet (VOIP) phone numbers for any area code and prefix (the three digits after the area code) to “appear” local, and run calls through a global network. Other scam calls can be tracked with ease.

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Consumer complaints made Google aware of the unsavory practices of Local Lighthouse Corp., a California internet marketing company accused of “incessant, unsolicited automated telephone calls,” claiming to be a local Google representative, and made false guarantees of first-page placement in search results to “induce consumers to enter into contracts costing hundreds of dollars in recurring monthly bills” read Google’s 2015 lawsuit complaint.

Before litigation, Google sent cease and desist letters. The company replied, and denied:

1. using robocalls to market its services
2. harassing consumers with unwanted calls
3. guaranteeing first-page placement in search results.

The lawsuit settled in July 2016. Local Lighthouse admitted to infringing on Google’s trademarks, misleading customers, and agreed that any future reference to Google must include a disclaimer clearly acknowledging no affiliation with the tech giant, reports Law360’s in a summary of the final order. Local Lighthouse officials could not be reached for comment.

Signs of a Fake Google Call

“Google doesn’t make these calls, so if it’s not a real person right from the start (and you didn’t request an automated call from us), it’s not Google.”

 Google does not:

1. ​charge for inclusion in Google My Business or in Google Search.
2. offer to improve your search ranking or manage your business’s online profile.
3. ask you for your password or verification code. You should never provide sensitive information about your account (like your password and verification code) to a caller.

Real Google makes calls from a live person in certain cases:

1. verify your business
2. confirm business details for Google Maps & business listing – if you accept customers at your location
3. help with Google AdWords & other products
4. ask for photographic proof of business signage (often for home-based companies)
5. confirm status of a flagged review or incorrect info

The real Google may call you, if you requested communication, while logged into gmail, within the business dashboard. Google may send an email. The address should end in @google.com.