 (1).png){kind=spacer}
1 day ago
2
It's one of the world's most popular navigation apps.
But Google Maps has been causing chaos for some shoppers after pranksters set up a 'phantom' Aldi in the middle of the Welsh countryside.
The small village of Cyffylliog has been inundated with an 'endless stream' of confused shoppers looking for somewhere to buy their groceries.
Following Google's directions actually brought them to an empty field on a remote farm tens of miles away from the nearest supermarket.
While it might have been added as a joke, the fake Aldi has since led to chaos for this small community as deliveries have begun to arrive in search of the non-existent supermarket.
The misguided prank has even led to real Aldi deliveries arriving on one farmer's doorstep and becoming stuck on the narrow lanes.
A Müller milk lorry became wedged in the county road and had to be rescued by residents, leading to hours of delays.
In a post on Facebook, a local farmer wrote: 'Now we have an endless stream of day trippers and holiday makers turning up and looking confused - This was our first actual Aldi delivery!'
The rural Welsh village of Cyffylliog has been plagued by confused holidaymakers after a prankster added a fake Aldi to Google Maps
Shoppers looking for the Aldi supermarket listed on Google Maps were disappointed to find only an empty field down a winding country road (stock image)
The pin was placed at Cae Gwyn Farm, near Cyffylliog, a few miles west of the town of Ruthin.
No one is quite sure who originally added the location, but residents believe it was intended as a prank.
Adding a location to Google Maps is surprisingly easy using the 'Missing Place' feature.
On the browser version, the process is as simple as right-clicking and selecting 'Add a missing place'.
Users can then add a name, set the category of the location, and even include details like pictures or opening hours.
This tool can be very helpful for small businesses which might not get regular updates from Google but in the wrong hands, it can cause chaos.
Since the location was added, the residents of Cyffylliog have seen countless holidaymakers in their cars 'looking confused'
In a post in the local Facebook group, a resident said: 'We've had people knocking on doors asking where the Aldi is, delivery vans with groceries trying to find a nonexistent loading dock and even a bloke with a pallet of bread who thought he'd been hired to stock shelves.'
A milk tanker became stuck on the roads near the village (pictured) while attempting to make a delivery to the non-existent Aldi. The road was blocked for hours and the lorry had to be rescued before order was restored
How to add a location on Google Maps
On browser
- Open Google Maps in your internet browser.
- Search for the location you'd like to add.
- Right-click and select 'Add a missing place'.
- Fill in the details and click 'Submit'.
On mobile
- Open the Google Maps App.
- Select 'Contribute' in the bottom right-hand corner.
- Select 'Add place'.
- Fill in the details of the location and tap 'Submit'.
While most cars were able to turn around once they realised their error, larger vehicles became stuck on the winding roads.
In the most disruptive event, a milk tanker became stuck on the road just before the turn-off to the fake Aldi.
In a post on Facebook, a local farmer wrote: 'Poor fella tried pulling up Allt Henblas and backing the trailer up our hill in a misguided attempt at turning around. Went down with a tractor but the fella had no idea where the towing eye was, so I left it to the experts.
'They straightened him out to go to Hiraethog to turn around. As he was rounding the corner at the bottom of the hill, he slowed down to open his window and thank us - and nearly got stuck again. Bless his cotton socks.'
The news of the stuck lorry was shared with a warning to residents that there could be hours of delays as the road was completely obstructed.
Local resident Dafydd Hughes told News Rated: 'It's one thing having tourists turn up looking for Aldi, but when you've got a lorry full of milk clogging up the road, you start to question what's happening in the world.
'Honestly, if we had a pound for every car that's shown up, we could've opened our own Aldi by now.'
The Google Maps location has been removed since the milk lorry became wedged, but residents say they have been trying to get the pin removed for some time.
The Google Maps location has now been removed and Google says that adding any fraudulent information is a violation of its terms of service and could leave the prankster banned from Google Maps
A Google spokesperson told MailOnline: 'The listing has already been updated and live in Google Maps. Our automated systems and trained operators work around-the-clock to monitor Maps for suspicious behavior, including incorrect edits to places.'
An Aldi spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Our understanding is that the incorrect Aldi store is no longer featured on Google Maps, so there is no risk of any further disruption.'
This is not the first time that Google Maps has provided users with misleading information.
Earlier this year, Google removed a fake location which had been added inside the Srebrenica Memorial Centre cemetery, Bosnia and Herzegovina in which victims of the Serbian genocide are buried.
The fake location was named Ratko Mladic Park after General Ratko Mladic, known as the 'Butcher of Bosnia', who led the Serbian forces during the massacre.
Similarly, a 2017 study conducted by the University of San Diego found that tens of thousands of fake listings were being added to Google Maps every month.
The researchers found that the listings most frequently belonged to services like plumbers, locksmiths, and electricians trying to appear more legitimate by creating a fake office.
According to Google's terms of service, adding 'fraudulent or malicious data' to Google Maps is considered spam and users found to be involved will be banned.
HOW CAN YOU FIND AND DELETE WHERE GOOGLE KNOWS YOU'VE BEEN?
Even if you have 'Location History' off, Google often stores your precise location.
Here's how to delete those markers and some best-effort practices that keep your location as private as possible.
But there's no panacea, because simply connecting to the internet on any device flags an IP address that can be geographically mapped.
Smartphones also connect to cell towers, so your carrier knows your general location at all times.
To disable tracking on any device
Fire up your browser and go to myactivity.google.com. You'll need to be logged into Google.
On the upper left drop-down menu, go to 'Activity Controls.' Turn off both 'Web & App Activity' and 'Location History.'
That should prevent precise location markers from being stored to your Google account.
Google will warn you that some of its services won't work as well with these settings off.
In particular, neither the Google Assistant, a digital concierge, nor the Google Home smart speaker will be particularly useful.
On iOS
If you use Google Maps, adjust your location setting to 'While Using' the app. This will prevent the app from accessing your location when it's not active.
Go to Settings Privacy Location Services and from there select Google Maps to make the adjustment.
In the Safari web browser, consider using a search engine other than Google.
Under Settings Safari Search Engine, you can find other options like Bing or DuckDuckGo.
You can turn location off while browsing by going to Settings Privacy Location Services Safari Websites, and turn this to 'Never.'
This still won't prevent advertisers from knowing your rough location based on IP address on any website.
You can also turn Location Services off to the device almost completely from Settings Privacy Location Services.
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps will still work, but they won't know where you are on the map and won't be able to give you directions.
Emergency responders will still be able to find you if the need arises.
On Android
Under the main settings icon click on 'Security & location.' Scroll down to the 'Privacy' heading. Tap 'Location.' You can toggle it off for the entire device.
Use 'App-level permissions' to turn off access to various apps.
Unlike the iPhone, there is no setting for 'While Using.'
You cannot turn off Google Play services, which supplies your location to other apps if you leave that service on.
Sign in as a 'guest' on your Android device by swiping down from top and tapping the downward-facing cursor, then again on the torso icon.
Be aware of which services you sign in on, like Chrome. You can also change search engines even in Chrome.
To delete past location tracking on any device
On the page myactivity.google.com, look for any entry that has a location pin icon beside the word 'details.'
Clicking on that pops up a window that includes a link that sometimes says 'From your current location.'
Clicking on it will open Google Maps, which will display where you were at the time.
You can delete it from this popup by clicking on the navigation icon with the three stacked dots and then 'Delete.'
Some items will be grouped in unexpected places, such as topic names, google.com, Search, or Maps.
You have to delete them item by item. You can wholesale delete all items in date ranges or by service, but will end up taking out more than just location markers.
