Suspicious calls or message from someone claiming to work for LocalMark?
Warning: Fraudulent Calls and WhatsApp Messages Impersonating LocalMark
We need to make you aware of a scam that is currently targeting members of the public.
We have been made aware of a scam in which individuals are being contacted on WhatsApp by people falsely claiming to represent LocalMark.
We want to be absolutely clear: these messages have nothing to do with us. LocalMark has no involvement in this activity, and we condemn it unreservedly.
If you have received one of these messages, please read on.
What Is Happening
Several people have contacted us recently to let us know they received unsolicited WhatsApp messages and/or calls from someone claiming to be from LocalMark. In both cases, the message asked the recipient to download Telegram and offered payment in return for posting fake reviews for hotels and restaurants.
This is a fraud. LocalMark does not contact members of the public via WhatsApp or Telegram. We do not pay people to post reviews. We do not engage in fake review schemes of any kind.
The individuals sending these messages are using LocalMark's name without our knowledge or permission in order to lend false credibility to their operation. We are taking this seriously.
Why Fake Review Solicitation Is Harmful
Paid fake reviews are not a grey area. They are deceptive, they distort competition, and they cause real harm to businesses, consumers, and the integrity of local search.
For consumers, fake reviews undermine the ability to make informed decisions. Someone choosing a restaurant or hotel based on fabricated five-star ratings is being deceived. When the experience doesn't match the reviews, trust erodes. Not just in that business, but in online reviews as a whole.
For businesses, fake reviews create an uneven playing field. A business that earns its reputation through genuine service is at a disadvantage when competitors artificially inflate their ratings. Equally, a business that becomes the target of fake negative reviews can suffer serious damage to its standing in local search results.
For local search, Google and other platforms invest significant resources in detecting and removing fake reviews. Businesses found to have solicited them risk penalties including the removal of their Google Business Profile — wiping out years of legitimate reviews in the process. The short-term gain of a few five-star ratings is not worth that risk.
Participating in fake review schemes — even as the person posting them — breaches Google's policies and may violate the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. It is not a side hustle. It is a scam.
LocalMark's Position
LocalMark operates exclusively on white-hat principles. Every service we provide — local SEO, Google Business Profile optimisation, reputation management, citation building — is carried out in full compliance with search engine guidelines and UK consumer law.
Reputation management, done properly, means helping businesses earn genuine reviews from real customers. It means responding professionally to feedback, making it easy for satisfied clients to share their experience, and building a credible, verifiable online presence over time. It does not mean manufacturing reviews or paying strangers to write them.
We have never done this. We never will. Anyone claiming otherwise, or claiming to act on our behalf in this way, is lying.
What to Do If You Were Targeted
If you received a message like this, here is what we recommend:
Do not respond to the message. Do not download Telegram at the sender's request, do not provide any personal details, and do not click any links you were sent.
Report the message. On WhatsApp, you can report a contact by opening the conversation, tapping the contact's name, and selecting "Report". You can also forward the message to the National Cyber Security Centre's suspicious message reporting service at report@phishing.gov.uk .
Contact Action Fraud if you believe you have been defrauded. Action Fraud is the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime: actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040.
Let us know. We would like to hear from anyone who has received one of these messages so we can build a clearer picture of what is happening. You can reach us via localmark.co.
Get in Touch
If you have concerns or questions about this scam, or want to verify whether a communication you received genuinely came from LocalMark, please contact us directly through our website at localmark.co. You are also welcome to book an intro call if you would like to speak with us directly.
We will continue to monitor this situation and update this post if we receive further information.