No assistance with refund when my adwords account was breached

On December 17, 2024, my Google Ads account was breached, and a *****ulent phishing campaign was created, resulting in huge unauthorized ad spend. I only noticed when three debits were withdrawn from my bank account on the same day.

I immediately paused the campaign, reset my password, and contacted Google Ads support. They responded quickly with a list of security steps, which I followed. However, when I asked whether I would be refunded for the *****ulent charges, I was completely ignored.

Instead of addressing my concern, they sent generic emails about reactivating my account. Each time I asked about a refund, my question was dismissed. Eventually, one support agent told me that refunds were not possible because the charges were “due to spend.” When I provided clear evidence that the spend was done by a hacker, my messages were ignored.

I opened another case, but for weeks, I only received copy-paste responses saying they were "looking into it." Then, instead of providing any resolution, Google Ads suspended my account and blocked reactivation—without any explanation.

At no point did they clearly say whether hacked accounts are eligible for refunds. They simply ignored my concerns, took my money, and shut down my account.

Must be nice to be a massive company that can walk over small business owners without accountability.

I strongly warn others — If your account gets hacked, don’t expect any help — they’ll just take your money and ignore you.