Dear Google Local Guide team,
we are having a very big problem with a fraudulent network on Google Maps, which is targeting hoteliers and inns. It has claimed many victims, from customers and business owners, but it was not resolved at all through the report answer menu or flags.
Several Balikpapan Local Guide colleagues have also reported this problem via email, but until now there has been no solution whatsoever from Google Maps team.
For this reason, in order to improve Google Maps from being a hotbed of fraud to become a helper application for hotel and inn customers, we are making this open report so that it can be resolved properly and thoroughly and for a long time solution.
This fraud mode takes advantage of the Question and Answer feature, where fraudsters lead customers to communicate outside of the official contacts of hotel and inn owners.
It can be in the form of answering questions and then sharing unofficial telephone numbers, then being directed to pay upfront/booking fees to the fraudster’s account.
Example fraud target: https://goo.gl/maps/Qxm1FMekerXgqEdg6
Or provide wrong information, by attaching the fraudster’s telephone number to the fraudster’s username, so that the victim psychologically thinks the telephone number is real.
The Balikpapan Local Guide Community has also organized a movement to report/flag comments that have a tone of fraud or spam, but after waiting one week, the fraudsters’ comments have apparently not been deleted as there has been no response whatsoever from Google.
Then what is the Report Answer menu and the Flag feature for, if no action is taken by Google?