this post was submitted on 16 May 2025

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[Help me fight a scam] Google Moderators Refuse to Take Down Fraudulent Puffing Billy Locations on Google Maps (aussie.zone)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by MisterFrog@aussie.zone to c/melbourne@aussie.zone

18 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Friends, please help me report multiple scam listings for Puffing Billy on Google maps "located" in the CBD/South Melbourne.

Location 1 CBD: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fxVNa5w4SbZ7V1Qi9

Location 2 South Melbourne: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YB7w8NzmbtMJbdmf7

Edit: this location appears to have been removed (at least for now, hopefully they can't appeal successfully!)

These, for those who know, are obviously not real. And include a bunch of AI generated photos (plus photos from people who didn't realise the postings were not the real ones)

The locations link to a fake puffing billy websites selling "discounted tickets" (putting a markup on the tickets, or stealing personal information, do doubt).

I've tried repeatedly to suggest an edit to have them removed, the CBD listing was briefly taken down, but somehow the scammer has had it reinstated.

The one in South Melbourne keeps being rejected by the Google moderator.

Please leave negative reviews on these listings based on your own assessment and opinion. If you come to the same obvious conclusion, please use the keywords "scam" so that google highlights this to people looking at the reviews.

Please suggest an edit > place is closed or not here > and choose one of the following:

Doesn't exist here
Duplicate of another location (make sure you don't select the other fraudulent location, only none of the above if the one from Belgrave doesn't appear)
Offensive, harmful or misleading

Hoping the number of reports will help it be reviewed by someone who isn't just looking at the age of the postings and the number of reviews.

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[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Further, if someone can be bothered, make a complaint to https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/complaints-and-disputes/au-complaints/submit-a-complaint/

If you look at the WhoIS for puffingbillyrailwaymelbourne.com.au (the fraudulent website), the registrar complaint phone number is +1.1234567890, which seems like it's against AuDA guidelines. (At least, I reckon the registrar will do nothing...)

[–] notgold@aussie.zone 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Search the registrar and you'll get a number. Looks like they are buying from crazy domains. Email below to send your complaint about the scam website. abuse@crazydomains.com

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 4 points 1 month ago

Thanks for this, I'll make a complaint tomorrow

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

One other suggestion: let the real Puffing Billy know and suggest they make a trademark complaint.

I made a report to scamwatch as @dumblederp@aussie.zone suggested, via their "report a scam website" beta. Here's the text I used, if anyone else wants to take the basic skeleton of it and tweak it for their own report:

Pretends to be the Puffing Billy Railway (real domain: https://puffingbilly.com.au/)
Uses fake AI imagery to advertise and pretend its association with the real railway
Advertises "our coupon price" prices above those offered on the official site ($72 for an adult return, official price is $64)
Advertises that the "normal price" is above their coupon price ($80)
Website owner has also created false entries on mapping & business directory software Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fxVNa5w4SbZ7V1Qi9, https://maps.app.goo.gl/YB7w8NzmbtMJbdmf7. These entries promote the fake business as if it were the real one, and link back to the scam website.

One weird caveat...I don't understand what the scam actually is here. I could not find anywhere on their website to actually do anything. No call to action. No link to order tickets. No contact details. Nothing. Just a list of their prices and two fake photos.

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yeah I'm not sure either,, because I called puffing billy today and apparently they have been selling fake tickets. Perhaps the website is just broken at the moment.

Allegedly (according to the person I spoke to) they are re-selling group tickets to multiple groups.

Though not sure why their website is broken at the moment.

In any case they're still falsely pretending to be puffing billy, so I hope google can remove them.

Edit: thanks for your efforts making a report ♥️

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 2 points 1 month ago

Could be domain squatting with a bit of added extortion. "Buy this domain or we keep stealing your traffic and making you look like shit"

[–] notgold@aussie.zone 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

/c/melbournetrains or r/melbournetrains

May like to know there's scammers messing with our heritage

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Done, good suggestion! Edit: posted to Lemmy, but not Reddit because apparently my password no longer works. And ceebs, the people on Lemmy are my kind of people.

We're the crazy bastards who will actually take the time out of our day to report a scam against puffing billy haja

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Doing my part. I fucking hate scammers.

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 4 points 1 month ago

Thank you kind soul!

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I only hate scammers that target people. If you want to scam a corpo then have at it.

[–] pHr34kY@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I hate corpos, but I like trains.

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 2 points 1 month ago

This is a community not-for-profit organisation. The scam (according to the customer service person I called) is scamming people, not the org (other than the identity theft)

[–] dumblederp@aussie.zone 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Maybe report to scamwatch too?

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 5 points 1 month ago

Just did actually, thanks for the suggestion!

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I love puffing billies

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 3 points 1 month ago

It is truly magical

[–] NotForTheOtherUse@aussie.zone 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I know some people that work in management at Puffing Billy. I’ve passed this on to them, so they definitely know about it and will do what they can to address it.

Thanks OP