Litchfield, Minn. — Many people use search engines to find companies to perform work on their homes, but how reliable is that information?
Southtown Plumbing, a family-owned company for 60 years, said hackers changed the phone number on its Google listing in an attempt to deceive potential customers.
“I feel really helpless,” Brent Fite, vice president of Southtown Plumbing, told WCCO investigators. “My anxiety level last week was like, I’ve never felt anxious in my life, but I do have anxiety.”
Veit said Google sent the company a special code on a postcard to “unlock” and update the list. Local police also told them there wasn’t much they could do.
“This is not my area, so I called my web guy,” Veit said jokingly. “If you need plumbing, that’s my area.”
When Southtown staff actually called the new number, a company claiming to be a major plumbing contractor answered the call, Fite said. When Southtown staff placed fake service calls, the callers offered to connect them to contractors in the Twin Cities, Fite said.
Mr. Fite then asked for the number of a contractor in Minnesota.
“That was one of the questions they couldn’t answer,” he explained. “If you can’t provide a contractor number for a company here in Minnesota, don’t use that number.”
Vao Bang of the Better Business Bureau said the hacking allegations are an important reminder to consumers to always check everything.
“The BBB wants consumers to stay informed,” Bunn told WCCO Investigates. “This is a smart choice because you never know who will be calling, emailing, advertising, or social media.”
Mr. Bang also offered advice to small and medium-sized businesses on how to reduce the risk of being hacked in the future.
“Keep the lines of communication open with your customers,” she said. “Be transparent and share updates in a variety of ways.”
