These patterns can be anything from a group of people leaving reviews on the same cluster of Business Profiles to a business or place receiving an unusually high number of 1 or 5-star reviews over a short period of time." The Google Maps team explained in February how it used machine learning and live moderation to identify and stop review bombing, writing, "Our systems continue to analyze the contributed content and watch for questionable patterns. But this wasn't just a West coast thing - high-profile restaurants across the country received the same threats and negative reviews this past week, including Ever, Roux, EL Ideas and Sochi Saigonese Kitchen in Chicago.Ī Google Maps spokesperson told The New York Times on Monday that the company was investigating the issue and removing reviews from people who didn't actually visit these establishments. She tagged a handful of other acclaimed SF-based restaurants that were experiencing the same review bombing, including Sons & Daughters, Acquerello, 3rd Cousin, Marlena, Birdsong and Nari. Hey you think you could help small businesses in SF being blackmailed and giving 1* reviews to #marlena #birdsong /nw3AXtYxDp- Kim Alter July 5, 2022Īlter shared the email on Twitter and tagged Google, asking for the company's help in removing scam-related reviews. The message then offered a link to buy the gift card on PayPal and an email address to receive the code. We are begging you to send us google play gift card worth $75." The fact is that we live in India and see no other way to survive. We sincerely apologize for our actions, and would not want to harm your business, but we have no other choice. And will appear in the future, one review a day. Unfortunately, negative feedback about your establishment has been left by us. On July 5th, she shared an email she received from the extortionists after her restaurant was inundated with negative reviews.
Kim Alter is chef and owner of Nightbird, a fine dining restaurant in San Francisco that was hit by this campaign. It appears to be a coordinated effort: The restaurants receive a barrage of one-star reviews on Google - you know, the ratings that show up when you search for anything on Maps - and then the owners receive an apologetic email asking for a $75 Google Play gift card in order to stop the digital bombing. For the past week, a handful of high-profile and Michelin-starred restaurants from San Francisco to New York City have been targeted in an extortion campaign weaponizing Google reviews.
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