- Google has launched a form for businesses on Google Maps to report extortion attempts involving fake negative reviews.
- Extortionists flood business profiles with inauthentic bad reviews, then demand payment from owners to remove them.
- Other online scams include fake job offers, AI product impersonation, malicious VPN apps, fraud recovery schemes, and seasonal holiday frauds.
- Meta reportedly earns billions yearly from scam ads despite multiple policy violations by bad actors.
Google introduced a dedicated form on November 6, 2025, to help businesses on Google Maps report extortion attempts by criminals posting fake, negative reviews. This tactic, known as review bombing, aims to damage business reputations to force payments for removing false one-star reviews. Laurie Richardson, vice president of Trust & Safety at Google, explained that scammers often contact business owners via third-party messaging apps to demand ransoms, threatening further damage if ignored.
The company also highlighted other prevalent scams: online job scams where fraudsters impersonate recruitment platforms to steal sensitive data or spread Malware; AI product impersonation scams using fake ads and hijacked accounts to distribute malicious software; malicious VPN apps and extensions disguised as secure tools that install harmful software; fraud recovery scams targeting victims who were scammed previously by pretending to offer help; and seasonal holiday scams exploiting sales events with counterfeit deals to steal information and money.
Users are advised to stay cautious of unexpected texts or emails demanding fees, verify app sources, avoid sharing sensitive information unnecessarily, and be skeptical of unsolicited recovery offers.
Meanwhile, a report revealed that Meta generates billions annually from advertisements linked to scams and illegal products. Based on a December 2024 internal document, scam ads may represent up to 10.1% of Meta’s revenue, approximating $16 billion. The report noted that Meta allows high-value accounts to accumulate over 500 policy strikes without action and tends to ban advertisers only when it is over 95% certain they are fraudulent. On average, users may see around 15 billion high-risk scam ads daily across Meta’s platforms.
In response, Meta stated this figure is an overestimate and noted it has removed more than 134 million scam ads in 2025 so far.
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