Fraudulent Yahoo account

[solaiman098]

Hi,

There's a person who created a Yahoo email using the business name of one of my clients and apparently hired a shady SEO service to create various directory listings with all my client business information:

• Owner's name
• Business name
• Address
• Phone
• Social network profiles
• Website URL
• Fake contact email

Everything matches the real information, the only thing that doesn't match is the email, the person behind this scam is using a Yahoo email with the only intention to capture the real business clients data when people lands in any of this fake directories profiles and try to contact the company.

What can I do to help my client?

 

[KevinDJOrb]

Spread it out on the internet particularly about the FAKE email.

 

[G]

Contact the support of the directories and ask them to remove the fake profiles/listings.

 

[mazar]

nice move

 

[Waifu_tatyana]

Wow that's some dirty tactics.

 

[DigitalCity]

1. Send a cease and desist letter to the domain registrant
A cease and desist letter should be your first attempt at resolving a conflict. Send one to the site admin or domain registrant (using a domain search service like ICANN or DomainTools) and request that they stop the illegal activity. If you don’t get a response, or get the response you want, move on to the next step.



2. Send a cease and desist letter to the CMS platform
Send a cease and desist letter to the CMS platform the site runs on. This could be WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow or a lesser-known platform. You can also report a fake website to the domain registrar (such as GoDaddy or NameCheap). If the registrar isn’t the host, they might be able to help you track the host down.



3. Provide proof to the web host
When you report a website, web hosts will only remove it if you can provide proof that it’s fraudulent. Send screenshots of things that don’t seem right, such as domain name variations compared with the legitimate domain name, mis-spellings, scam links, false addresses, etc. Remember that web hosts don’t want illegal websites on their platform, so they’ll work with you to take down the site if it’s fake.



4. Be persistent
If at first, a web host refuses to take down a website on the basis of lack of evidence, continue to collect proof. Attempt to engage with the scammer via an online chat if possible, and take screenshots to catch them out.



5. Get in touch with Google
If you’re still having no luck, the next way to take down a website is to report it to Google. Google has a content removal tool that lets you report content, which Google will then investigate and remove if they deem it to be false or illegal.

 

[djsobuj]

You can report the impersonation to Yahoo, as it is against their terms of service to use someone else's business name without their permission. This can be done through their abuse reporting system or by contacting Yahoo customer support.
here: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/account/report-abuse-spam-yahoo-sln26401.html

 

[lisamay123]

Hi,

There's a person who created a Yahoo email using the business name of one of my clients and apparently hired a shady SEO service to create various directory listings with all my client business information:

• Owner's name
• Business name
• Address
• Phone
• Social network profiles
• Website URL
• Fake contact email

Everything matches the real information, the only thing that doesn't match is the email, the person behind this scam is using a Yahoo email with the only intention to capture the real business clients data when people lands in any of this fake directories profiles and try to contact the company.

What can I do to help my client?

Report the fraudulent activity to Yahoo and the relevant directory listing platforms. Provide them with the evidence you have gathered and request that they take down the fake listings. Each platform may have its own reporting procedures, so follow their guidelines.

If you believe the scam involves illegal activity or identity theft, consider reporting the incident to local law enforcement authorities. They can investigate the matter further and potentially take legal action against the responsible party.

Notify your client's customers and clients about the scam to raise awareness and advise them to be cautious when contacting the business through any online directories. Encourage them to verify the authenticity of the contact details before sharing any sensitive information.

Regularly monitor online directories and search engines for any new fake listings or instances of the scam resurfacing. Promptly report and request removal of any fraudulent content that you come across.
Ensure that your client's official business listings, such as their website, social media profiles, and legitimate directory listings, reflect accurate and up-to-date information. This can help minimize confusion caused by the fake listings.

 

[jhustlin01]

Hi,

There's a person who created a Yahoo email using the business name of one of my clients and apparently hired a shady SEO service to create various directory listings with all my client business information:

• Owner's name
• Business name
• Address
• Phone
• Social network profiles
• Website URL
• Fake contact email

Everything matches the real information, the only thing that doesn't match is the email, the person behind this scam is using a Yahoo email with the only intention to capture the real business clients data when people lands in any of this fake directories profiles and try to contact the company.

What can I do to help my client?

Announce the fake review on trustpilot or yelp.