Which of the three it is
Check the profile's manager list and your Google account's recent security activity before doing anything else. Those two screens usually tell you which case you are in.
- Your Google account was compromised. Someone signed in as you, usually through a phishing email or a reused password, and now controls everything that account owns, including the profile.
- An ownership request went through. Anyone can request access to a profile. Google emails the current owner and allows a short window, three days, to respond. Miss it, and the requester can be granted access.
- A manager went rogue. A former marketing company, employee or family member still had access and changed the details, transferred ownership to themselves, or removed you.
Secure the Google account first
If the account itself is compromised, everything else waits. Run Google's account recovery, change the password, turn on two-step verification, remove any recovery phone or email you do not recognise, and sign out every other session. Check forwarding rules in Gmail: attackers add one so they keep receiving Google's emails after you change the password.
If the account is fine and only the profile has changed hands, skip to reclaiming ownership. Resetting a healthy account will not help and delays the part that matters.
Reclaim ownership
Go to add a business on Google, enter your business name and address, and select the existing listing. Google will tell you someone else owns it and offer a request access form. Fill it in accurately, with your role and a working email. The current owner gets Google's three-day window to respond; if they do not, or they refuse and Google judges your evidence stronger, you can be verified as the owner.
Evidence that carries weight for a UK business: the Companies House record naming you, a utility bill or lease at the address, a photo of signage, and any earlier Google emails showing the profile was previously yours. If the hijacker changed the name, evidence must match the real name, not the altered one.
Undo the edits, and check what else changed
- Phone number: restore yours, and check any call-tracking numbers you did not add.
- Website: restore the correct URL. Hijackers often point the link to a lookalike site that collects your enquiries.
- Name, address and categories: revert to what they were. Screenshot before and after.
- Managers and owners: remove every account you do not recognise, and downgrade anyone who does not need owner access.
- Duplicates: search Maps for your name and postcode. A hijack sometimes leaves a second listing behind.
- Reviews and photos: report anything added during the takeover, but do not delete legitimate history.
If the profile was suspended in the process
A run of edits by a stranger, followed by a run of edits by you undoing them, is exactly the pattern Google's checks flag. Many hijacked profiles are suspended before the owner gets them back. If yours is, the reinstatement service page linked below covers the appeal. Say in the appeal that the profile was hijacked, when, and attach the account security report or the ownership-request emails.
Report the incident to Action Fraud, the UK's reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, particularly if the hijack came with a phone call. Google does not phone businesses to fix their listings. A caller claiming to be Google, or to be able to remove reviews or verify your profile for a fee, is the start of most of these cases.
We can handle it
Send us the profile link, what changed and when, and any emails you received, through the form below. Within one working day we tell you which of the three cases it is, what can be recovered, and a fixed quote for the recovery, the clean-up and, if needed, the reinstatement appeal. We never ask for your Google password.