Shop Marketing Pros Reports Google Ads Breach

Shop Marketing Pros, a specialized marketing agency for auto repair shops, says a hacker recently breached a Google Ads agency manager account after 230 of its auto repair shop ad accounts were compromised.

The hacker reportedly “removed legitimate administrators and retained control while allowing victims only view-only access,” according to Brian Walker, founder and CEO of Shop Marketing Pros.

Shop Marketing Pros officials say they notified Google within hours of the incident by phone and through a support ticket. They say Google acknowledged it was reviewing the issue and later suspended the account, but claim the hacker continued to operate.

Google says it is actively working to solve the issue.

"Just like consumers, our ads customers can face threats from bad actors looking to gain access to their accounts, which is why we use advanced techniques to stay ahead of these evolving tactics,” says a Google spokesperson. "If an account is compromised, our dedicated teams work to secure it, restore advertiser access and issue credits as necessary."

Google monitors uncertified payments and credits advertisers when necessary, the spokesperson adds.

In an effort to prevent early business fraud and phishing attempts, Google uses advanced LLMs and staff expertise to identify and remove harmful ad accounts. In 2024, Google removed 415 million ads and suspended more than five million accounts for scam violations, according to the spokesperson.