Check a call or email that says it's from Google

Owners get a lot of calls and emails that claim to be from Google, or that offer to remove bad reviews or get you to the top of Google Maps for a fee. The scam check reads one and tells you what it looks like and what to do next. It's on every plan, for everyone on your team (owners, managers and staff), in Reviews → Scam check.

Check a message

1. Open Scam check. It's also linked from the reviews inbox, Disputes and Help.
2. Pick how it reached you: a call, an email, a text or something else.
3. Paste the email or text. For a call, write down what the caller said as best you can.
4. Click Check it.

You get one of two answers:

• This looks like a scam: it has the usual signs, such as asking for money to keep or verify your listing, a deadline, or asking for a code.
• We can't confirm this: check it through Google's own routes before you act, and don't pay anything until you have. Sign in to your Business Profile yourself (type the address, don't use a link in the message) and look for a notice there, or ask Google through Business Profile help.

The check never tells you a message is genuine, even when it reads like a real Google email. Scammers copy real emails closely, and we can only see what you paste, not who sent it. So when a message looks fine, or the check isn't sure, you get We can't confirm this and the steps to check it with Google yourself.

Under the answer you'll see a few things to check in the message, and what to do next, with links to Google's own help and your Business Profile. It's a guide, not legal advice.

A few things worth knowing

• A Google Business Profile is free. Google doesn't charge to create, verify or keep one.
• Nobody can pay Google to remove a review. Google takes down reviews that break its rules, and reporting them is free.
• Never read out a verification code to someone who calls you. It's how scammers take over listings.
• Real emails from Google come from an address ending in google.com. The name shown as the sender proves nothing.

When reviews are involved

If the message offers to remove reviews, or someone posted fake reviews and wants money, the answer links to the dispute desk. Flag each fake review in the inbox with I have no record of this customer and start a case. Owners and managers handle flags and cases, so staff can pass the answer on to them. See Ask Google to look again (disputes) and Reviews that may break Google's rules.

What happens to what you paste

We don't save or log what you paste. It's sent to our AI provider to produce the answer. The provider may keep it for a short time for safety and abuse monitoring. We keep only the answer's verdict (a scam, or can't confirm), who ran it and when, so we can count checks. You can leave out your own phone number, email or card details; we don't need them to check a message.

How many checks you get

Each business gets 30 checks a month, shared by everyone on the team. The page shows how many you've used. Once they're used up, the page says so, and you can check again from the 1st of the next month.