Google is investigating scammers who extort restaurants via Google Maps. Top restaurants in the US have received threatening emails in which the attackers say they will bombard the restaurant with negative reviews if they do not receive compensation.
Scammers on Google Maps
In digital times, review scores for restaurants and other businesses are more important than ever. It determines whether customers choose your business or your main competitor. It has also not gone unnoticed by scammers, because in the United States some Michelin-starred restaurants have been extorted by a gang of scammers, they know that The New York Times†
On Twitter one of the restaurant chefs shared a threatening email that the restaurant has received. In it, the scammers announce that they are from India and they apologize for the one-star reviews they have handed out. In the email, they state that they will continue to hand out those negative reviews until the owner of the restaurant pays them $75 in Google Play gift cards. The criminals say they need the money to feed their families.
Google responded to The New York Times that it is now investigating American restaurants that have been targeted by the scammers and has already removed a series of negative reviews. Google also states that users who abuse the Maps review system also risk sanctions. This can range from simply removing reviews to banning accounts or starting a lawsuit against the perpetrators.
‘Defenseless’
Yet that is not the end of the matter for the affected restaurant owners. They complain about the difficult communication with Google employees and about the little effect when they report the rogue reviews in Google Maps.
“It feels like we’re defenseless,” said Julianna Yang, the manager of the Sons & Daughters restaurant in San Francisco. “We can only hope for some luck that the reviews are allowed to stop.” In a blog post Google explained this year exactly how the moderation process for reviews works. This assessment involves both algorithms and real employees.
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– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source