I’m listening to reviews of some spammers or hackers hijacking some Google Resort listings by marking some motels as completely closed and likewise altering the cellphone numbers to WhatsApp numbers. This could be a large concern for a lot of lodge operators, however I’m not certain how widespread the difficulty is.
Per week or so in the past, somebody reached out about this, however I’m not capable of finding that message. Now Nevena Ivanova posted on X about it, saying, “Huge hack wave hitting Indonesia and UAE! Attackers are integrating private WhatsApp numbers into Google listings in Indonesia, whereas UAE faces a coordinated assault, altering legit lodge titles to “Completely closed.””
Nevena added, “Keep vigilant and monitor your GBP.”
Here’s a screenshot of somebody including a faux WhatsApp quantity to a list:
Listed here are some motels that have been marked as completely closed, when they don’t seem to be:
In case you seek for that WhatsApp quantity some hotel listings are returned.
I imply, marking businesses as closed has been occurring for a decade however it is likely to be a brand new concern for motels?
🚨 Pressing Alert! 🚨 Huge hack wave hitting Indonesia and UAE! Attackers are integrating private WhatsApp numbers into Google listings in Indonesia, whereas UAE faces a coordinated assault, altering legit lodge titles to “Completely closed.” Keep vigilant and monitor your GBP! pic.twitter.com/G02Sexbtyd
— Nevena Ivanova (@BeHuTo) August 13, 2024
Discussion board dialogue at X.
