Google Taking Action On Recent One-Star Review Scams & Blackmail Threats

A recent New York Times piece highlighted blackmail threads taken on small restaurants that threaten and blackmail the owners. These threats say the person will leave a one-star review, hurting the business’s reputation in Google Maps and Google Search if they do not send money through digital gift cards.

Google responded on Friday by posting a notice in the Google Business Profiles Help forums saying Google is aware of this issue and taking action.

So if you do get these email extortion threats, follow the details above posted by Google.