If restaurants didn’t already have enough to deal with during this pandemic, scheming scammers have cooked up an elaborate plot to target them with negative reviews.
According to CBS News, there’s been a wave of restaurants across the country getting hit with a series of one-star reviews on Google. The reason behind it? Scammers are hoping to extort money out of restaurant owners in exchange for not leaving these single-star reviews.
According to Barbara Castiglia, host of the podcast “Modern Restaurant Management,” restaurants are under attack once again.
This extortionist plot comes just on the heels of when many restaurants are finding their footing again after COVID-19 restrictions forced many into distress with a variety of different setbacks.
Castiglia said that aside from supply chain and staffing worries, the other “S” problem that restaurants now have to deal with is scammers. The scheme is targeting restaurants where they can retain and gain patronage.
“Extortionists are reaching out to restaurants and hitting them at their reputation. They’re telling them that they’re going to flood their Google reviews with one-star reviews, and just keep at these attacks unless they receive some kind of compensation,” said Castiglia.
And the scam is not specifically geared towards certain kinds of restaurants — it can be any type of eatery located anywhere, added Castiglia.
“It’s happening all across the…
