Google Maps has a fake business listing problem

Google Maps is overrun with fake business listings and phone numbers that reroute to competing businesses, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Hundreds of thousands of fake listings appear on Google Maps every month, with the Journal estimating the service currently has about 11 million falsely listed businesses.Though Google claims in a self-funded 2017 academic study that only 0.5 percent of local searches are false listings, a separate investigation by the Journal suggested otherwise.