UPDATE: This article was originally published in January 2018 with input from Google. In May 2018, Google reached out to ZDNet to tell us they announced new efforts involving direct action against robocall spammers. This article has been updated with that information.
A few days ago, my phone rang with yet another call from "my local Google specialist." I get these every day or so, and sometimes more than once on a given day. Even though I always block the number, the calls keep coming.
In a fit of petulant peevishness, I posted a missive on Twitter complaining about the calls:
Don't call me, big bro!
Much to my surprise, I got a ton of replies from followers and even other columnists, all sharing their same level of frustration. Clearly, this was a thing. I decided to follow the approach one of my old bosses used to insist on: "Don't just whine about the problem, find a solution." Clearly, he had never met any bloggers. Even so, that aphorism has always appealed to me, so I reached out to Google.
Taking action against scammers
As it turns out, Google is as annoyed by this problem[1] as we are. In nearly all cases, if you get a call purporting to be from a Google representative, the caller is not representing Google. Robocalls, not just claiming to be from Google, but from many other vendors as well, are a serious problem. The FTC gets hundreds of thousands of complaints[2] every month.
In May 2018, Google announced[3] that it's taking legal action[4] against Kydia Inc. d/b/a BeyondMenu, Point Break Media, LLC (and affiliated entities), and Supreme Marketing Group, Inc. d/b/a Small Business Solutions.