That “Urgent” Text Isn’t From Google: A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Spam Texts

If you own a small business, your phone is currently being assaulted by people pretending to be Google.

They’re not Google. They’re not your domain host. They’re not “the Local Business Verification Center” — that’s not a thing.

I get screenshots from clients about these almost every week. Let’s talk about what’s circulating right now, how to spot the difference between a real message and a scam, and what to do if you’ve already clicked something you shouldn’t have.

The Spam Texts Hitting Small Businesses in East Texas Right Now

A few names that have shown up in my own messages just this month:

• MyWebsiteListing — the trickiest of the three, because it’s a real registered company. But the tactic is unsolicited cold-texting that mimics transactional follow-up (“Your registration access is active... setup fee fully waived through Monday”). What they charge for — $49/month or $299 lifetime — is setting up your Google Business Profile. Google offers that for free, directly through google.com/business, in about fifteen minutes. If you got a text from them and didn’t sign up for anything, you’re not a customer. You’re a prospect they’re hoping doesn’t know the service is free.

  **A quick note, since this is what I do for a living: Setting up a Google Business Profile is free. Optimizing one so it actually shows up when your customers search — that’s real work, and the difference between a bare listing and an optimized one is huge. (One of my clients saw a 360% jump in calls after a proper optimization.) So if you want help with that side of it, you know where to find me. Just please don’t pay a stranger $49 a month to fill in fields you could fill in yourself.**

• CleerCheck — texts about a “new update on your profile” with a vague shortened link. Generic enough that you might click it just to see what it is. Don’t.

• Fake Google Business Profile suspension calls — robocalls or live “agents” claiming your listing will be suspended unless you pay or “verify.” Here’s the nuance: Google does sometimes call businesses legitimately (for verification, confirming hours, or following up on a support case you opened).

  
  

But real Google calls are operational, never financial. Three things tell you it’s a scam, full stop:

↳ They demand payment (your GBP is free — Google never charges to list or maintain it)

↳ They threaten suspension or removal as leverage

↳ They pitch “listing management,” SEO, or priority placement

Don’t trust caller ID either — scammers spoof Google’s real numbers. And if you get a robocall, don’t press any buttons, not even to “opt out.” That just confirms your line is live and you’ll get ten more calls. Hang up and report it.

The specific operators change every few months. The pattern doesn’t.

How to Spot a Scam in Ten Seconds

Read these once and you’ll catch nearly all of them:

• Urgency you didn’t ask for. Real companies don’t put a 4-day deadline on a “registration.” If there’s a countdown, it’s a scam.

• A code or a “setup fee.” Google doesn’t text you 4-digit codes to activate your business listing. Your domain registrar doesn’t either.

• A URL that doesn’t match a service you signed up with. If a link goes to “domainlisting.support” or any unfamiliar URL — especially weird suffixes like “.support” or “.help” — that’s a tell. Real companies use domains you already know: google.com, your actual hosting company, your actual registrar. If you didn’t already have an account there, don’t click. Open a new tab and go to the company directly instead.

• A phone number you don’t have saved. If your hosting company actually needs to reach you, they email the address on file. They don’t text from a random area code.

• No personal details. Real companies you’ve signed up with know your name, your business name, and which services you have. Scams use generic “Hi Jessica” and never mention what business they’re supposedly contacting you about.

  
  

What to Do If You Already Clicked

Don’t panic. Clicking a link does not automatically take your money or your data. What matters is what happened next.

1. Did you enter any information? If you didn’t put in a credit card or password, you’re probably fine. Close the tab, delete the message, move on.

2. Did you enter a credit card? Call your bank, freeze the card, dispute any charges that appear. This is faster than people assume — most banks have a fraud line that handles it in one call.

3. Did you enter a password you reuse anywhere else? Change it everywhere you used it. Then start using a password manager so you don’t reuse passwords — that’s the actual long-term fix.

4. Did you give them remote access to your computer or phone? This one’s serious and it’s outside what I do. Disconnect the device from wifi, turn it off, and from a different device, change your passwords on email and anything financial. Then find a local IT or computer repair shop that handles malware removal — not a big-box chain, a real local tech. If you don’t know one, message me and I’ll help you find someone reputable in your area.

   
   

Worried it might actually be real? Don’t call them back. Log into your Google Business Profile dashboard directly. If there’s a real issue with your listing, Google posts a notice right there in your account — and that’s the only place you should trust to tell you so.

Block, Report, Repeat

On iPhone, you can block the number and report it as junk in two taps. Same on Android. Carriers track these and do eventually take them down — reporting actually matters, even though it feels like shouting into the void.

The Shortcut: Send It to Me Before You Click

If something looks even a little off, screenshot it and send it over before you do anything. No charge, no catch — I’d rather field ten “is this real?” texts than have one of you lose money to a scammer pretending to be your hosting company.

You’re not paranoid. They really are getting better at this. The good news is you only need to recognize a handful of patterns and you’ll catch nearly all of them.

— Jess

Got a marketing question? Send it over — that's how most of these articles start. sagemedia.info · jessica@sagemedia.info