A couple of years ago, we covered a report by the NY Times on the ongoing issues with review scams and blackmail. Well, the issue is not gone, despite Google responding to that report. From what I am told, it is still relatively common.
Bill Hartzer shared on X saying, "Scammers are now texting businesses about how they're posting negative reviews on their business."
He shared this screenshot that has the message from the scammer that reads:
Someone ordered me to do negative reviews on your profile ! He wants 35 negative reviews on your profile. I just posted 1.
The message also includes a screenshot - here it is:
Back in 2022, Kara from Google then posted (the post is no longer available) and wrote:
We’ve recently become aware of a scam targeting businesses on Google with the threat of 1-star reviews unless they send money via gift cards. Our policies clearly state reviews must be based on real experiences, and our teams are working around the clock to thwart these attacks, remove fraudulent reviews, and put protections on business profiles that may have been affected.
If your business is being targeted by these scammers, please do not pay them. Instead, please flag the reviews here or reach out to Google support via our Help Center, so that our team can review and remove policy-violating content. If you haven’t yet claimed your business profile, you can do so here.
You can also learn more about how our review moderation systems work to ensure that Google reviews remain helpful and authentic.
Tim Capper responded on X and wrote, "Super common, reports all the time in the GBP community."
As Bill wrote, you should never respond to these messages, despite how concerned you may be. You should report them to Google Business Profile support. Then stay on top of your reviews and any supicious reviews, you can report to Google or post about them in the Google Business Profiles.
It stinks that this stuff happens and that there are people out there in the world that look to hurt small businesses, but this is the world we live in.
Forum discussion at X.
