Fake Google business listings are profiles for companies that do not exist, or copies of a real company's name with someone else's phone number, and they take calls a real trade should have had. To deal with one, save the evidence, report a single listing through Google Maps under Suggest an edit, and file Google's Business Redressal Complaint form when your own name, number or address is being used or several listings are involved. Google removed 13 million fake Business Profiles in 2025, by its own count. And on October 1, 2026 the Federal Trade Commission published a proposal in the Federal Register asking whether search engines and other platforms should carry responsibility for impersonation scams their ad tools help. Comments close November 30, and a local business that has been copied is exactly who the FTC is asking.
In short
- Google removed 13 million fake Business Profiles and blocked 79 million inaccurate edits in 2025 (Google, 2026).
- The FTC received over 1 million imposter reports in 2025, with nearly $3.5 billion in reported losses (FTC, 2026).
- The FTC's platform proposal was published on October 1, 2026; comments close November 30, 2026.
- Google's complaint form says you will not be updated on its status, so checking back is your job.
Why fake Google business listings cost a real trade
A fake listing does not have to beat you in search to hurt you. It only has to sit next to you. A homeowner with a burst pipe calls the first plausible number, and if that number belongs to a lead broker or a scammer, you never hear about the job.
The FTC's May 2026 case shows the scale. It says Premium Home Service, an Illinois company, had created thousands of fake listings for home repair businesses since at least 2018, advertising electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling and garage door repair. The listings used made-up or borrowed local addresses, phone numbers routed to representatives in places like the Philippines, and fabricated five-star reviews. The FTC says tens of thousands of consumers were diverted, and some got no-shows or unlicensed technicians. We covered the review side of that case in what the FTC consumer review rule allows.
Reporting one listing at a time is slow work against that. Google's Business Redressal Complaint form states plainly: "We cannot guarantee that any action will be taken on your complaint," and "you will not be updated on its status." The FTC's new notice explains why copies keep coming. It cites a 2026 Consumer Federation of America finding that consumers are "more likely to click ads appearing to come from known brands or local businesses." A local name is the bait.
What the FTC published on October 1
The Commission voted 2-0 on September 24 to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, and it appeared in the Federal Register on October 1, 2026. It does not change any rule yet. It asks whether the existing Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses, finalized in March 2024, should reach search engine, social media and marketplace platforms whose ad-optimization services further these scams.
The FTC lists the measures it wants views on: vetting advertisers, monitoring ads, and removing confirmed scam ads. Its own figures frame the problem. Imposter scams were nearly one in three fraud reports in 2025, and total reported fraud losses reached $16 billion, up 25% on 2024.
How to find and report fake Google business listings
- Search for yourself the way a customer does. On a phone, in Google Maps, search your business name, then your trade plus your town ("furnace repair Livonia"). Look for your name with a number you do not own, or a company with no address that sits on top of yours.
- Save the evidence before you report. Copy the listing's Maps URL, take screenshots, and write down the phone number, website and date. A listing can change or vanish after a report, and the form asks you to quote the exact content.
- Report a single fake listing in Maps. Google's help page gives the path: Suggest an edit, then Place is closed or not here, then Offensive, harmful, or misleading, then Submit. In the app, tap Suggest an edit and then Report business conduct.
- Use the Business Redressal Complaint form for impersonation. It covers a malicious title, address, phone number or website, or a business that does not exist, and asks for the Maps URLs and a description of the harm to customers and to your business. Google's help page also points to it for reporting multiple businesses.
- Make sure the edit alerts reach you. In April 2026 Google said verified owners now get an email asking them to review important edits to their profile before they go live. That only helps if the owner email on the profile is one somebody reads.
- Send harmed customers to the right place. A customer who paid a fake company can report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In Michigan, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Team takes complaints at 517-335-7599 or toll free at 877-765-8388, or through its online form.
- Give customers something a clone cannot copy. Put your Michigan license number on your profile, site and quotes. LARA's guidance is that residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors can be checked at michigan.gov/licenselookup, and electricians, plumbers and mechanical contractors through the Bureau of Construction Codes. The Attorney General tells homeowners to confirm a contractor is licensed before hiring.
| Where to report | Use it for | What comes back |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps, Suggest an edit | One listing that does not exist | Nothing guaranteed |
| Business Redressal Complaint form | Your name, number or address copied; several listings | A case ID, no status updates |
| ReportFraud.ftc.gov | A customer who lost money | Data for FTC cases |
| Michigan Attorney General | A Michigan customer harmed | A complaint on file with the state |
The mistake most owners make at step 4
They file the form once and wait for a reply that Google has said will not come. Then the same clone returns under a slightly different name a month later. Treat the search in step 1 as a recurring check, keep the evidence file from step 2 growing, and file again when a copy reappears. A dated record of repeat impersonation is also the most useful thing you could attach to a comment to the FTC.
Should a Michigan trade comment on the FTC proposal?
If you have been copied, yes. The notice asks for "written comment, data, and arguments," and the data it cites is national. A plumber in Wayne County who can show three clone listings, the dates they appeared and the calls lost is the evidence a national survey cannot give. File at regulations.gov and write "16 CFR Part 461, Impersonation Rule, Matter No. R207000" on the comment, as the notice instructs. Comments close November 30, 2026.
Where this fits
We keep Google Business Profiles current for service businesses: services, hours, photos and posts that match the business, and a profile someone is actually watching. We cannot remove another company's listing; only Google decides that. A profile that is complete and active gives customers a real one to compare against. For how Google's results are shifting in other ways, see Google AI Mode for a local business, and more for owners is on our services page.
Search your own name this week. If someone else answers, you have a report to file and, until November 30, a comment to write.
