I remember this being especially bad for certain niches like locksmiths. In that space, someone would create fake businesses and then take the leads they got via phone, email, websites, etc, and then refer the business to some actual locksmith. With probably heavy mark-up to cover the referral fee.
Oh wow, see my other comment in another thread. I had a ridiculously bad experience trying to get a key fob made last week - all the numbers would lead me around in circles, then I'd get "spam caller" numbers calling me telling me they were on their way. Switching to Yelp reviews seemed to solve the problem for locksmiths in particular, and I really can't figure out why...
Replying to myself to add: for any other household service I probably wouldn't have even noticed. But, being in a vulnerable position, having sketchy locksmith services really freaked me out. You want my address and credit card info and also know that I have a disabled vehicle potentially outside of my garage? No thanks, not taking any extra chances here.
