Imagine a potential customer searches for your business online. They find a listing on Google Maps, call the number, and never hear back. That customer assumes you are useless and moves on. The listing was a fake. The leads went nowhere. You lost the sale without knowing it ever happened.
This is a real problem for Australian small businesses. Someone creates a Google Business Profile using your trading name, your address, or a close copy of it. They do it to run a competing business, to scam people, or simply to harvest leads they sell on. You do not find out until a customer tells you, or until your own listing stops appearing because Google flagged the duplication.
Take a bakery in Melbourne, for example. A new listing appeared under their exact business name at a different address. Calls came in asking about orders they had never received. The owner spent weeks explaining they were not responsible. By the time Google closed the duplicate, three genuine customers had walked away.
What a fake Google listing costs you
The damage goes beyond a few lost phone calls. Here is what actually happens when someone uses your business name on Google without permission.
Every call, email, or direction request that goes to the fake listing is a customer you will never recover. Even worse, if the fake listing collects poor reviews, those reviews attach to your business name. Google may eventually close duplicate listings, but this can take months, and in the meantime your reputation takes hits you did not earn.
The longer a fake listing stays up, the more confused Google becomes about who the real business is. Your own listing can drop in search results or get flagged for duplication. When Google cannot tell two listings apart, it sometimes hides both. That means your real customers struggle to find you, and the problem compounds.
How to check if it is happening to you
You can find most fake listings yourself in under five minutes. Open Google Maps and search your full business name, including words like "pty ltd" or "consulting" if they appear on your official listing. Try common misspellings too. Search your address. Search your phone number. Look for any result that has your name but a different location or contact details.
Do the same search in a regular Google search. A fake listing on Google Maps often appears in web search results too, especially if the creator linked it to a weak website or social media page. Look for Business Profile panels that do not belong to you.
If you find a listing with your name but a different address or contact details, that is a strong signal. Screenshot everything. Note the phone number, website, and any other details the fake listing shows. You will need this information when you report it.
How to report and remove a fake listing through Google
Google has an official process for this. It is called the Google Business Redressal Form, and it is the correct path for getting a fraudulent listing removed. The form exists specifically for situations where a business name is being used without authorisation.
Before you fill it in, gather a few things. You will need your Australian Business Number, your own business website URL if you have one, and screenshots of the fake listing. Google uses these to verify who you are and to understand what you are asking them to remove.
The form asks for your name, email, and phone number. It asks for your business website URL and your business category. It also asks you to describe the issue in your own words. Be specific. Include the name of the fake listing, the address or phone number it shows, and why it is not you.
Once you submit, Google will review your report. This means verifying your identity and checking whether the listing violates Google's policies. They may ask for additional information. They will contact you by email with their decision. Most legitimate requests are resolved, but review times vary. Some take a few days, others longer.
After Google removes the listing, keep monitoring. There is nothing stopping someone from creating a new fake profile under a slightly different spelling or address. Make checking for duplicates part of your regular routine, the same way you check your bank statements or your mailbox.
Farview monitors your Google Business Profile as part of its service. We check for changes to your listing, new duplicates, and shifts in your review ratings. If something changes, we send you a plain-English alert so you can act on it quickly.