Verified google scam!

[andy photenas]

So im not sure how to handle this me and my wife are still coming down from how close we came to getting scammed out our credit card number!!!!!!!!!!! We made a web site that has not yet been verified by google local plus. We are having troubles to do this due to the fact i changed my name from Woodland Carpentry to Woodland Kitchens NH. I am not sure how the ppl figured out how to target us so well but they were really well put together for scamers !!!! they had me on the phone "fixing the issue" and selling me on how much more calls i will get.
Then right as im bout to hang up he says ohh ya thts $450 if you want this to go into the system!!!!!!!! im like its free he said thts how it used to be but now you need to pay but i can give u a deal right now. by the time i kept trying to say ill call you back he was down to $150 at this point i know its a scam but i was inches away from giving those crooks my credit card number!!
We all work way to hard for the money so if any of you get this call dont do it or at least verify that you are talking to the right people all google listings are FREE. you can pay for Ad words and stuff but that is not the same thing.

Does anyone know how you report scams like this ? GL out there all its a new world!

[Mark Bolton]

This one has been around for a long long time. We have gotten calls from these third party companies for years. To be fair its not a Google scam. You can call Google directly at any time and get free help with verifying and increasing your page rankings. These third party marketing boosters deceptively word their calls to where people think its Google calling directly. Marketing firms do what these guys say they are going to do all the time. Increase your rankings, boost your relevance using ad words and such.

It is for sure something to be aware off because they are likely charging a very high rate for doing things you can easily do on your own. I know a guy very well in the marketing world and some of the stuff he does routinely with peoples sites and Google (setting up given algorithms and targeting specific search criteria at a very high level) is way over my head and would be worth paying a reputable outfit for but I often wonder if those scam callers would even do anything for the money you pay.

Good that you had your radar tuned properly and didnt get hoodwinked.

[Jim Becker]

Sounds like an SEO scam...and has nothing to do with Google other than they happen to have what is likely the most used search engine. There are legitimate SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firms and yes, they do charge a fee to help you adjust your website code to place better in search results. But the one you speak about sounds pretty sleazy for sure...

[andy photenas]

Ty for the input all