That's probably a bit too much overhead for something like this. Imagine the number of businesses that close each year, then imagine Google sending a postcard t

That's probably a bit too much overhead for something like this. Imagine the number of businesses that close each year, then imagine Google sending a postcard to each. I've been through the postcard validation, and it's pretty painless. I'd prefer some notification options that includes the ability to receive an email before my location is marked as closed. A thresholding algorithm could be used to detect abuse. If a location is repeatedly marked as closed, but the owner of the listing verifies that they're still open every time, a listing could be flagged for further inspection. Subsequent requests to close could be prompted for more information, which Google staff could then use to take action. All of this requires more attention from Google, and I'd imagine that the Maps business already runs on pretty thin margins. Google's approach to most of these problems is to use an "85% solution" (I mean that 80% figuratively, not literally). That is, they choose a solution that works for "most" situations, but falls apart when abuse is present, but they don't really care, because those edge cases don't affect their bottom line.