Ontario Entrepreneur Battles Google After Account Hack

A business owner from London, Ont., claims that Google is negatively impacting her finances by not issuing a full refund for charges resulting from a hacking incident involving a third-party company she had engaged to set up online ads.

Sarah Martin launched her Osteopathy on Wellington clinic last November and employed Fiverr – an online service that links businesses with freelancers – to find someone who could help her create a Google ad for her new venture.

Fiverr connected her with Digital Bee1 to handle the project.

Martin paid $175 for the creation of the Google ad. At first, she was pleased with its performance after it went live in January.

“I got a ton of new business off of it,” she said. “Things were going really well.”

Unexpected Charges for Unposted Video

Her monthly credit card bills from Google fluctuated based on how many clicks the ad received, typically around $450.

In July, Martin’s credit card company notified her about $700 in charges they flagged as potentially fraudulent.

She confirmed with her credit card provider that those charges weren’t legitimate and they were quickly reversed. However, Google responded by suspending her advertising account, which stopped her ad from appearing in online searches.

When the unauthorized charges surfaced, Google informed Martin via email that they would initiate an investigation. She sent over 20 emails to Google throughout the summer but states there was no progress in having the charges removed or getting her account reinstated. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)

“It essentially means my business is invisible,” she said.

So how did these extra charges show up on her account?

Martin explained that hackers uploaded a video promoting special glasses meant to reduce glare from computer screens to her Google account. That video racked up over 8,000 views within two days, resulting in referral charges totaling $3,400 on Martin’s bill, including the previously flagged $700.

“I did not upload any video to my account,” said Martin.

She mentioned that it wouldn’t make sense for her to post such a video since it had nothing to do with her osteopathy clinic and was only accessible to users in the U. S.

Searching for Solutions

To clarify what happened and figure out how she could reactivate her account, Martin reached out to Fiverr, Google, and Digital Bee1. She shared that correspondence with.

In an email sent on July 4 when issues began arising, a representative from Digital Bee1 stated their Google ad account “has encountered a technical issue,” which allowed hackers access to Martin’s information.

Fiverr informed Martin that they couldn’t assist.

“Since the issue you described occurred outside of Fiverr’s platform, we unfortunately cannot issue a refund for the Google ads charges,” reads an email sent to Martin. “Fiverr can only address matters directly tied to orders placed and processed through our system.”

The representative also pointed out that freelancers on Fiverr operate independently and are not monitored beyond Fiverr’s platform.

The spokesperson suggested taking up the matter with Google.

Digital Bee1 and Fiverr didn’t respond when asked for comments by.“There are other alternatives for smaller businesses beyond just relying solely on Google ads.” – Zhe Zhang,Ivey Business School assistant professor. Martin shared that when those fraudulent charges came through initially; Google assured her via email of starting an investigation into the situation. Afterward though she’d check every few days only to be told more time was necessary. She sent more than 20 emails over summer without seeing any progress regarding removing the disputed charges or getting reactivated.
Meanwhile!

The businesswoman mentioned it was tough trying get hold of someone at Google’s customer service line.However!