Google Alerts Businesses to Review‑Bomb Extortion Scheme

Google is warning business owners about a growing scam in which fraudsters flood a company’s Google and Google Maps listings with bad reviews, then demand money to stop or remove them.

Owners in New York, Florida, and other places have reported being hit in recent months. Scammers post many negative reviews to push down a business’s overall rating. They then contact the business and ask for payment, sometimes hundreds or thousands of dollars, saying they will remove the reviews only if paid.

Google says scammers can “threaten that if the business fails to pay the fee, the negative reviews will remain, or the attack will escalate and further damage the business’s public rating and reputation to coerce the victim into paying the extortion demand.”

Some victims say the messages come from WhatsApp numbers linked to countries such as Pakistan, suggesting the attackers may be overseas. The activity breaks Google Maps rules against fake engagement and also involves harassment and extortion.

To help companies fight this, Google created a special online form where businesses can report extortion attempts. The company asks owners to submit proof, such as screenshots or emails that show the threat. Google also tells businesses not to pay the demands, since paying only encourages more attacks.

“After you submit your report with evidence, our team thoroughly investigates the claim and notifies you about the results of the investigation,” Google says. The company adds that it cannot share detailed findings for privacy and safety reasons: “Due to privacy and security reasons, we can’t share specific details about the investigation, but we are committed to maintaining the integrity of Business Profiles and reviews.”

Google included this warning in a wider scam advisory that also called out “sophisticated scams impersonating popular AI services” that pretend to be free but are actually malware or sites meant to steal data.