A business owner in London, Ontario, is facing financial losses due to Google’s refusal to fully reimburse charges resulting from a hacking incident on a third-party business she engaged with for online ad creation.
Sarah Martin launched her Osteopathy on Wellington clinic in November and enlisted Fiverr, an online platform connecting businesses with freelancers, to help set up a Google ad for her new venture. Fiverr then contracted Digital Bee1 for the task, which cost Martin $175.
Initially pleased with the ad’s performance after going live in January, Martin saw her monthly credit card charges from Google fluctuating based on ad clicks, typically around $450. In July, her credit card company flagged around $700 in suspicious charges, promptly reversed upon Martin’s confirmation of their illegitimacy. However, Google responded by suspending her advertising account, rendering her business invisible online.
The unwarranted charges stemmed from a video promoting specialized glasses to reduce screen glare, uploaded by hackers to Martin’s Google account without her consent. This led to $3,400 in charges, including the flagged $700, reflecting as referral fees on her account.
Struggling to resolve the issue and reactivate her account, Martin contacted Fiverr, Google, and Digital Bee1. Fiverr disclaimed responsibility, citing the issue occurred outside their platform. Digital Bee1 attributed the breach to a technical problem on their end. Despite Martin’s persistent efforts and over 20 emails to Google, she made no progress in reversing the charges or reactivating her account.
After CBC News contacted Google, they reinstated Martin’s account but only agreed to refund $132 of the fraudulent charges, leaving her burdened with over $3,000 related to the unauthorized video upload. Despite Google’s commitment to refund the illicit spending, the exact amount and timeline remain unspecified.
Zhe Zhang, an assistant professor at Ivey Business School, highlighted the challenge for small businesses in vetting contractors and emphasized the need to diversify marketing strategies beyond heavy reliance on platforms like Google ads.