Google review is now used by scammers as a tool to blackmail Michelin-starred restaurants.
It is no doubt that scamming, phishing, and ransomware activities have become increasingly rampant nowadays.
However, the scammers are taking it to the next level and are nitching down to targeting well-known and reputable restaurants through posting bad reviews on Google.
The tech company Google has a popular app called Maps that is used by numerous people around the world, including tourists, drivers, and many more.
Google Reviews
Google Maps has a feature wherein it allows users to not just discover places or new attractions, but also discover the vast number of dining establishments in a particular vicinity.
On Google Maps, these restaurants have reviews and commentary from people who have eaten at the restaurant before.
For some tourists or even locals, before deciding to go to a restaurant, they often look online for reviews first to inform them if the place is worth trying.
However, Engadget reports that over the previous week, an extortion scheme that makes use of Google reviews has been carried out against a select group of well-known and Michelin-starred restaurants across the country.
This attack was carried out on restaurants all across the country, but most recently in New York City and San Francisco.
The scammers look like they have put together a well coordinated plan to attack these restaurants.
The attacks are carried out with the same tactics for every restaurant. First, the scammers bombard the restaurants with a one-star rating on Google Review.
The restaurants are bombarded with one-star reviews on Google, which are the ratings that appear whenever you conduct a search for anything on Google Maps.
After that, the restaurant owners will receive an email apologizing for the situation and requesting a Google Play gift card in the amount of $75 in order to put an end to the digital bombing.
One Star Scam Review Detected by Owner
This campaign had an effect on the fine dining establishment located in San Francisco known as Nightbird, which is owned and operated by chef and businesswoman Kim Alter.
After her restaurant had been subjected to a barrage of critical reviews, she revealed on the 5th of July an email that she had received from the extortionists.
Alter then went to Twitter and shared the email she received from the scammers, and tagged Google asking for the company's assistance in removing reviews that were related to a scam.
She named a few other well-known restaurants in the San Francisco area, such as Nari, Marlena, Acquerello, Sons & Daughters, 3rd Cousin, and Birdsong, as being victims of the same review bombing.
In addition, the scammers did not only attack heavily on the West coast, they also tricked restaurants like Sochi Saigonese Kitchen, EL Ideas, Ever, and Roux in Chicago.
Just got another one! I've been in @nytimes @eatersf @SFChronicleFood @SFGate and restaurants STILL have reviews up and STILL are being threatened pic.twitter.com/mxWlwtTAsK
— Kim Alter (@KimAlter1) July 12, 2022
In the first tweet posted by Alter on July 6, the email reads:
"Hello. Unfortunately, negative feedback about your establishment has been left by us. And will appear in the future, one review a day. We sincerely apologize for our actions, and would not want to harm your business, but we have no other choice. The fact is that we live in India and see no other way to survive. We are begging you to send us a google play gift card worth $75."
However, as above the tweet, Alter also received another one of these emails just a few days after on July 13.
On Monday, a Google Maps spokesperson confirmed to The New York Times that the company was looking into addressing this problem and removing the one-star reviews written by users who had not actually been to the locations.
