Restaurateurs fend off fake online review 'extortion' attempt
The owners of a Mexican restaurant in Adelaide noticed their Google review rating had fallen, and shortly afterwards started receiving emails from a company offering to remove poor reviews — for a price.
Adelaide restaurateurs Denisse Rojas-Valdez and David Valdez were targeted by a fake online review extortion attempt. The couple owns Que Onda Wey! Mexican restaurant in Goodwood, which had enjoyed a perfect 4.9 rating on Google. A negative review appeared, followed by emails offering to remove the review for a fee. Rojas-Valdez ignored the initial emails but eventually blocked and reported the senders.
Another negative review followed, falsely claiming the restaurant was overpriced compared to a non-existent hot pot restaurant nearby. The scammers claimed they could remove the reviews for a price. Rojas-Valdez gathered evidence and followed Google's instructions to have the reviews removed. She reported the scam to the police and Scamwatch.
Google removed the offending reviews but confirmed a few others remained on the platform. The couple received community support and had their rating restored to 4.9.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
