I hear reports of spammers or hackers hijacking some Google hotel listings by marking some hotels as permanently closed and changing the phone numbers to WhatsApp numbers. This can be a big problem for many hotel operators, but I’m not sure how widespread the problem is.
About a week ago, someone alerted me to this, but I can’t find the message. Now Nevena Ivanova posted about it on X, saying: “Massive hacking wave hits Indonesia and the UAE! Attackers integrate personal WhatsApp numbers into Google listings in Indonesia, while the UAE faces a coordinated attack that changes legitimate hotel titles to ‘Permanently Closed’.”
Nevena added: “Stay alert and monitor your GBP.”
Here is a screenshot of someone adding a fake WhatsApp number to a listing:
Here are some hotels that were marked as permanently closed even though they are not:
If you search for this WhatsApp number, some hotel listings will appear.
I mean, marking businesses as closed has been around for a decade, but for hotels this could be a new problem?
🚨 Urgent Alert! 🚨 Massive hacking wave hits Indonesia and the UAE! Attackers are embedding personal WhatsApp numbers into Google listings in Indonesia, while the UAE is facing a coordinated attack that is changing legitimate hotel titles to “Permanently Closed”. Stay alert and monitor your GBP! pic.twitter.com/G02Sexbtyd
— Nevena Ivanova (@BeHuTo) 13 August 2024
Forum discussion at X.
