Hard to overstate how enshittified and botshitted Google Maps has become. Went looking for my local locksmith on Gmaps. Maps shows 20+ fake locksmith referral scam outlets and doesn't even register the real locksmith, despite it being fully visible in Street View.
Instead, a red pin on the shop identifies it as a fake locksmith scammer. The real locksmith - which has been there SINCE 1942 (!!) and is a verified merchant - doesn't even show up.
@pluralistic Someone here is currently writing about this - the locksmiths are a huge, organized scam, and the operations sprawl through multiple countries and I don't know what else I'm allowed to say about it rn.
They started showing up at Missi Ryan's door in June, asking about a garage door repair company. There was an older woman who said she'd paid $39.99 for a service call that never showed, and a man who had paid the $200 quoted to him by a repairman.
Impressive.
Cory Doctorow
Joseph Riparian 🏳️⚧️
GLC