3 ms·
I'm convinced that there is an untold number of third parties/scammers cold-calling listed business numbers falsely representing themselves as Yelp, targeting o
by xenihn 11y ago
I'm convinced that there is an untold number of third parties/scammers cold-calling listed business numbers falsely representing themselves as Yelp, targeting owners who are not technologically savvy.
Unfortunately, Yelp's current model seems to encourage extortion at the hands of these third parties, and is also incapable of punishing them.
What I think happens / Paraphrase of what I'd imagine a 3rd party call to be like:
"Hi, this is Yelp. Pay us and we'll boost your rating/visibility and hide bad reviews. If you don't pay, your Yelp ratings will suffer."
Then they just manipulate ratings and review visibility with fake accounts. Add good reviews and hide bad ones if the owner paid, and add bad reviews and hide good ones if they didn't.
(Also I'm aware that there are plenty of "legitimate" businesses that provide this service and don't misrepresent themselves as Yelp itself)
- tertius 11y agoAnd you should be convinced. I'm a Google Trusted Photographer in Houston and I visit and talk with businesses that get targeted every single day. I'm loosely affiliated with Google and I have to make that clear. They get calls twice a day from "Google" and "Yelp" about their pages and reviews. This is their #1 complaint when I call them or walk in their door. Being local helps.
- eridius 11y agoI've gotten a few prerecorded calls from "Google Local" about my business, saying something about needing to verify details. I never really listen though, because I don't have a business (they're calling my personal cell phone). It's really quite strange.
- tertius 11y agoTry having a listing on Google maps and see how many times you get called.