# Someone keeps ringing to say our Google listing is about to expire. Is that true? | Illia BizTech > Calls several times a week in German, our address quoted correctly, followed by a fax for 987 euros. A colleague already said yes on the phone. Source: https://illia-biztech.de/en/forum/uns-ruft-dauernd-jemand-an-und-sagt-unser-google-eintrag-lauft-ab-stimmt-das 1. [Home](/en) 2. [Forum](/en/forum) 3. Someone keeps ringing to say our Google listing is about to expire. Is that true? # Someone keeps ringing to say our Google listing is about to expire. Is that true? Calls several times a week in German, our address quoted correctly, followed by a fax for 987 euros. A colleague already said yes on the phone. * ##### Asked by BoldCompass805 * ##### Asked on August 27, 2026 For about two months now someone has been ringing several times a week. They speak German, quote our address correctly, and say the free phase of our Google listing is ending and that it will now cost 49 euros a month. Last week a fax arrived as well, an invoice for 987 euros for a renewal. A colleague said yes on the phone once before checking with me. The listing itself works normally and we can see it in search. We are just not sure whether we are now caught up in something. #### Answers ![Portrait of Illia Belichenko, technical specialist at Illia BizTech](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/small_Illia_Belichenko_author_81f88864f0.png) ##### Illia Belichenko ✓ Accepted answer August 28, 2026 A Google Business Profile is [free, including after the first year](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=de). There is no free phase that ends, because there never was one. The scam is well documented in Germany and usually runs on supposed contract renewals for search placement, sometimes into four figures a year. Trade associations have been warning about it for years, and [handwerk.com has a detailed piece on it](https://handwerk.com/betriebsfuehrung/warnung-betrueger-drohen-mit-abschalten-der-google-werbung). The fact that the callers quote your address correctly proves nothing: it sits in your own profile and in every directory. The callers cannot change anything in your listing as long as they have no access to it. That is precisely why the real danger lies elsewhere: that somebody at your end agrees to an ownership transfer or hands over credentials. Look in the profile at who is listed as owner and who as manager, and remove anyone you do not recognise. Stay calm about your colleague's yes, but do not leave it. A contract agreed over the phone is treated differently for businesses than for consumers, because the [right of withdrawal in distance selling is tied to the consumer definition](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/%5F%5F312g.html). Dispute the invoice in writing, with a date, and record that no contract was formed. Pay nothing until somebody shows you a signed contract. You can report the calls to Google, which has a [page on protecting yourself from fraudulent calls with a reporting form](https://support.google.com/business/answer/6212928?hl=de). The most effective measure, though, is internal: one sentence for everyone who answers the phone. We do not enter into contracts by telephone, please send anything further in writing. Tell your colleague and everyone else who answers the phone. ##### #### [The quote was 6,000 euros and the invoice came to 9,500\. Do we have to pay it?](/en/forum/das-angebot-lag-bei-6-000-euro-die-rechnung-kam-auf-9-500-mussen-wir-das-zahlen) September 5, 2026 [](/en/forum/das-angebot-lag-bei-6-000-euro-die-rechnung-kam-auf-9-500-mussen-wir-das-zahlen) #### [The confirmation email from our contact form lands in customers' spam. Why?](/en/forum/die-bestatigungsmail-aus-unserem-kontaktformular-landet-bei-kunden-im-spam-woran-liegt-das) September 4, 2026 [](/en/forum/die-bestatigungsmail-aus-unserem-kontaktformular-landet-bei-kunden-im-spam-woran-liegt-das) #### [We received a letter about Google Fonts demanding 170 euros. Do we pay?](/en/forum/wir-haben-einen-brief-wegen-google-fonts-bekommen-und-sollen-170-euro-zahlen-zahlen-wir) September 4, 2026 [](/en/forum/wir-haben-einen-brief-wegen-google-fonts-bekommen-und-sollen-170-euro-zahlen-zahlen-wir) #### [Our shop window carries the company name in German and Upper Sorbian. How do we write it on Google?](/en/forum/auf-unserem-schaufenster-steht-der-firmenname-deutsch-und-sorbisch-wie-schreiben-wir-ihn-bei-google) September 3, 2026 [](/en/forum/auf-unserem-schaufenster-steht-der-firmenname-deutsch-und-sorbisch-wie-schreiben-wir-ihn-bei-google) #### [What counts as a normal cost per enquiry from Google Ads?](/en/forum/was-ist-ein-normaler-preis-fur-eine-anfrage-aus-google-ads) September 3, 2026 [](/en/forum/was-ist-ein-normaler-preis-fur-eine-anfrage-aus-google-ads) **Share** **Topics** * Google Business Profile * fraud * cold calls