Urgent Action Required Against Extortion, Fake Reporting and Unauthorized Business Removals in Bangladesh

Google Maps tips & tricks
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Subject: Urgent Action Required Against Extortion, Fake Reporting and Unauthorized Business Removals in Bangladesh

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Dear Google Maps Team,

I would like to report serious concerns regarding alleged extortion, intimidation, coordinated false reporting, and unauthorized removal of legitimate business listings in Bangladesh. Some individuals reportedly claim to represent Google Maps and demand monthly payments from business owners to keep their businesses visible. In certain cases, threats have allegedly been made to remove business listings or change location names unless money is paid. These activities are causing harassment, financial exploitation, and serious difficulties for ordinary people, pharmacies, educational institutions, and local businesses.

I strongly urge Google to investigate these allegations and introduce a mandatory Physical Presence and Live Verification System for adding, editing, or permanently removing important places. Anyone requesting the addition or deletion of an existing business, pharmacy, educational institution, or public location should be required to provide real-time live video, recent photographs, 360-degree visual verification, GPS-based location evidence, and relevant official documents where applicable.

Furthermore, verified business listings should not be removed simply because of mass reporting or coordinated complaints. Every removal request should undergo an independent review, with the legitimate owner receiving prior notification and an opportunity to appeal.

Please investigate suspicious reporting activities, protect legitimate businesses, and take strict action against anyone impersonating Google representatives or using Google Maps to demand money, threaten people, or manipulate public information.

Google Maps must protect genuine businesses and public information. No one should be able to use this platform as a weapon for extortion, harassment, or personal revenge.

I sincerely request your urgent attention and appropriate action to protect Google Maps users and businesses in Bangladesh.

Sincerely,

Jinnovator

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Hi @Jinnovator, this is a serious issue, and you have done the right thing by raising it. One thing every business owner should know: Google never charges money to keep, verify or bring back a listing — a Business Profile is free. So anyone asking for a monthly payment in Google’s name is not from Google at all, it is a scam.

If a business owner gets such threats, please do not pay and do not reply to them. Save everything first — screenshots of the messages, the phone numbers and the dates. Fake or misleading listings can be reported on Maps through ‘Suggest an edit’, or through Google’s Business Redressal Complaint Form, which is made for fraud and impersonation cases. Where money is demanded, Google also has a separate extortion report form for business owners, and because extortion is a crime, it should be reported to the local police or cybercrime unit as well.

Connect is a community forum, so actions on listings happen through those reporting channels, not from a post here. But a post like yours still matters — it warns other owners before they fall into the trap. Your idea of stronger verification for important places like pharmacies and schools is a good one, and I see you have already tagged this as a feature request.